Three Essays In Public Finance

A primary explanation for sub-optimal worker-job matches is a prospective worker's imperfect information about his or her own skills. College classes in specific fields are thought to reveal new information about specific skills, potentially improving match quality. This paper tests that theory by asking whether grades in a specific field can help a student predict labor-market outcomes in that field. Field-specific CPA significantly predicts employment Business, Education, Engineering, and medical fields. Field-specific CPA also significantly predicts income in Business and Education. Although grades do provide predictive power, however, they explain a modest share of overall variation in outcomes.