Research ArticleArticles
The Benefits of Alternatives to Conventional College
Comparing the Labor-Market Returns to For-Profit Schools and Community Colleges
Christopher Jepsen, Peter Mueser, Kenneth Troske and Kyung-Seong Jeon
Published online before print March 07, 2025, 0823-13077R1; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.0823-13077R1
Christopher Jepsen
University College Dublin (UCD) and a research fellow at CES-Ifo, the UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy, and IZA ()
Roles: professor of economics
Peter Mueser
University of Missouri and a research fellow at IZA ()
Roles: Chancellor’s Professor of economics
Kenneth Troske
University of Kentucky and a research fellow at IZA ()
Roles: Richard W. and Janis F. Furst Endowed Chair of Economics
Kyung-Seong Jeon
University of Missouri ()
Roles: senior research associate

References
- Bahr, Peter R.
- Belfield, Clive, and
- Thomas Bailey
- Cellini, Stephanie.
- Cellini, Stephanie, and
- Nicholas Turner
- Chung, Anna S.
- Duncan, Otis Dudley, and
- Beverly Duncan
- Jacobson, Louis S.,
- Robert J. LaLonde, and
- Daniel G. Sullivan
- Jepsen, Christopher,
- Peter Mueser,
- Kenneth Troske, and
- Kyung-Seong Jeon
- Jepsen, Christopher,
- Peter Mueser,
- Kenneth Troske, and
- Kyung-Seong Jeon
- Jepsen, Christopher,
- Kenneth Troske, and
- Paul Coomes
- Jepsen, Christopher,
- Kenneth Troske, and
- Paul Coomes
- Kornfeld, Robert, and
- Howard Bloom
- Liu, Vivian Y. T., and
- Clive R. Belfield
- Liu, Vivian Y. T., and
- Clive R. Belfield
- Phelan, Daniel J.
- Słoczyński, Tymon.
- Snyder, T.D.,
- C. de Brey, and
- S.A. Dillow
- Stevens, Ann Huff,
- Michal Kurlaender, and
- Michel Grosz
- U.S. Department of Education. 2015. “Fact Sheet: Obama Administration Increases Accountability for Low-Performing For-Profit Institutions.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education. Accessed January 3, 2017.
In this issue
Journal of Human Resources
Vol. 61, Issue 1
1 Jan 2026
The Benefits of Alternatives to Conventional College
Christopher Jepsen, Peter Mueser, Kenneth Troske, Kyung-Seong Jeon
Journal of Human Resources Mar 2025, 0823-13077R1; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.0823-13077R1
Jump to section
Related Articles
Cited By...
- No citing articles found.





