TY - JOUR T1 - Local Labor Markets and Human Capital Investments JF - Journal of Human Resources JO - J Hum Resour SP - 1498 LP - 1525 DO - 10.3368/jhr.58.1.1119-10566R2 VL - 57 IS - 5 AU - Russell Weinstein Y1 - 2022/09/01 UR - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/57/5/1498.abstract N2 - I study whether human capital investments are based on local rather than national demand, using two positive and two negative shocks with differential local effects: the dot-com crash, the fracking boom, the 2008 financial crisis, and the shock making Delaware a financial headquarters. I find impacts on the share of sector-relevant degrees awarded following these shocks, on average across the United States. However, universities in areas more exposed to sectoral shocks experience greater changes in sector-relevant majors. Differential impacts on major choice at the most exposed universities account for 15–45 percent of the overall national effect on sector-relevant degrees. ER -