Changing returns to education in Spain during the 1980s

We present evidence on returns to education for Spanish employees during the 1980s, a period of remarkable structural transformations. The results show a declining payoff to education between 1981 and 1991 for lower and intermediate educational levels, whereas higher education does not show a reduction in its return. At the same time, earnings inequality by gender declined noticeably as educational attainment expanded. [JEL I21, J31]