本文使用最新的美國社區調查(ACS)中關于大學專業的數據,分析了雙專業對于本科畢業生收入的影響。結果顯示,相對于畢業生的第一或第二專業,雙專業帶來大約1%的收入溢價。相對于單一的高收入專業,雙專業的收入平均低5%左右。相對于單一的低收入專業,雙專業的收入平均高7%左右。更進一步的分析表明,年輕群體比年長群體從雙專業中受益更多。最后,通過對雙專業的組合方式的分析可見,在絕大多數情況下,雙專業在和單一的高收入專業相比較時,收入溢價會明顯減少。但兩個高收入專業的組合卻會顯著增加收入。

This paper uses the recently available data on college majors from the American Community Survey(ACS)to examine the effect of completing a double major on the graduate’s future economic income.Results show that relative to the first or second reported major of a graduate,a double major degree is associated with only a small income premium around 1%;relative to the high paying major,a double major degree is associated with a significant economic penalty on the order of 5% on average;relative to the low paying major,a double major degree is associated with robust economic benefits around 7%.Moreover,a double major degree may benefit younger more than older college graduates.Further analyses suggest that the first reported major has slightly more influence than the second. Finally,our analyses of combinations of double majors indicate that in most cases,a double major significantly decreases income premiums compared with a single high paying major.The combination of two high paying majors,however,is associated with significant economic gains.