Do High-Premium Fields Buffer Labor Market Shocks? Evidence from India
General Economics
2026-05-13 v4 Economics
Abstract
Do high-return fields of study provide greater protection in labor market during crises? I construct pre-pandemic premia for major technical fields in India and examine whether workers in higher field-premium fields experience resilient labor market outcomes during COVID-19. Using a difference-in-difference with continuous treatment design, I find that field-premium advantages did not emerge immediately at the onset of the pandemic but through gradual adjustment during later phases.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2508.12471,
title = {Do High-Premium Fields Buffer Labor Market Shocks? Evidence from India},
author = {Jheelum Sarkar},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2508.12471},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
13 pages, 4 figures