Factors Affecting the Supply of Accounting Graduates

We use a cobweb model to construct a labor market model that can be used to analyze the impacts of changing labor market conditions on the market for new accounting graduates. These conditions are partitioned into macroeconomic and academic‐specific changes. We find that 73.2 percent of the decline in the number of accounting baccalaureate degrees since 1990 can be explained by such factors as the decline in the relative salaries of entry‐level accountants, the decline in academic preparedness of incoming freshmen, implementation of the 150‐hour requirement, and increases in freshmen enrollments. Furthermore, we explain 60.1 percent of the observed increase in master's level accounting degrees. This increase can be attributed to a rise in the salary premium associated with earning a master ‘s degree and implementation of the 150‐hour requirement.