College education offers a hefty 8.8% pay premium for each marginal increase in the number of years of intellectual attainment.

Fiona Sydney

2018-04-29 13:44:00 Sun ET

College education offers a hefty 8.8% pay premium for each marginal increase in the number of years of intellectual attainment in contrast to the 5.6%-6% long-run average U.S. equity premium.

World Bank economists George Psacharopoulos and Harry Patrinos investigate 1,120 studies across 139 countries to derive an average annual rate of return on each marginal increase in the basic level of educational attainment. This 8.8% pay premium far exceeds the U.S. stock market return about 5.6%-6% per annum over the past 5 decades. The pay premium excludes social gains such as positive social interactions and low mortality rates in close association with better education. Also, the pay premium is higher for girls and college graduates (in direct comparison to postgraduates). This premium is higher in low-income countries primarily as these countries recruit a smaller share of international citizens with higher education.

In accordance with the law of lower marginal value, this pay premium dwindles for each extra year of educational attainment. Psacharopoulos and Patrinos posit a current race between education and technology. This race suggests that high-tech advances accelerate to favor high-skill workers to the detriment of low-skill workers. The normative implication for public policy is that the government should subsidize college education or even graduate school attendance. This subsidization serves as a worthy socioeconomic investment in human capital.

 


If any of our AYA Analytica financial health memos (FHM), blog posts, ebooks, newsletters, and notifications etc, or any other form of online content curation, involves potential copyright concerns, please feel free to contact us at service@ayafintech.network so that we can remove relevant content in response to any such request within a reasonable time frame.

Blog+More

In the current global market for better biotech advances, medical innovations, and healthcare services, the new integration of artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the competitive landscape worldwide.

Charlene Vos

2026-04-30 08:28:00 Thursday ET

In the current global market for better biotech advances, medical innovations, and healthcare services, the new integration of artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the competitive landscape worldwide.

In the current global market for better biotech advances, medical innovations, and healthcare services, the new integration of artificial intelligence (AI)

+See More

Is higher stock market concentration good or bad for Corporate America?

Laura Hermes

2025-03-03 04:11:06 Monday ET

Is higher stock market concentration good or bad for Corporate America?

Is higher stock market concentration good or bad for Corporate America? In recent years, S&P 500 stock market returns exhibit spectacular concentrati

+See More

The new antitrust enforcement paradigm

Joseph Corr

2023-10-14 10:32:00 Saturday ET

The new antitrust enforcement paradigm

Jonathan Baker frames the current debate over antitrust merger review and enforcement in America. Jonathan Baker (2019)   The antitrust paradi

+See More

Our proprietary alpha investment model outperforms most stock market indexes from 2017 to 2026.

Olivia London

2026-02-02 12:30:00 Monday ET

Our proprietary alpha investment model outperforms most stock market indexes from 2017 to 2026.

With U.S. fintech patent approval, accreditation, and protection for 20 years, our proprietary alpha investment model outperforms most stock market indexes

+See More

The Economist suggests that the world has learned few lessons of the global financial crisis from 2008 to 2009.

Becky Berkman

2018-09-07 07:33:00 Friday ET

The Economist suggests that the world has learned few lessons of the global financial crisis from 2008 to 2009.

The Economist re-evaluates the realistic scenario that the world has learned few lessons of the global financial crisis from 2008 to 2009 over the past deca

+See More

President Donald Trump blames China for the long prevalent U.S. trade deficits and several other social and economic deficiencies.

Apple Boston

2025-01-22 08:35:08 Wednesday ET

President Donald Trump blames China for the long prevalent U.S. trade deficits and several other social and economic deficiencies.

President Donald Trump blames China for the long prevalent U.S. trade deficits and several other social and economic deficiencies. In recent years, Pres

+See More