DEVELOPING HUMAN CAPITAL. Arnold Kling seeks to understand a recent paper exploring the effect of social standing on college major choice.

If I am reading their table 6 correctly, it suggests that majors in science, math, and engineering tend to come from the relatively advantaged groups, majors in education and business tend to come from relatively disadvantaged groups, and majors in social science and humanities tend to come from groups in between. I tend to think of majors in science, math, and engineering as having obtained skills, majors in education have obtained credentials, and majors in business, social science, and humanities as having obtained neither.

Time permitting, I will read the paper more carefully. The problem with business and education degrees is that they provide entry-level credentials. The corporate suites, crowded though they might be with MBAs, are more likely to have engineering or liberal arts baccalaureates.