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

Stock Synopsis: With a new Python program, we use, adapt, apply, and leverage each of the mainstream Gemini Gen AI models to conduct this comprehensive fundamental analysis of Palantir (U.S. stock symbol: $PLTR).

Olivia London

2025-10-04 13:37:00 Saturday ET

Stock Synopsis: With a new Python program, we use, adapt, apply, and leverage each of the mainstream Gemini Gen AI models to conduct this comprehensive fundamental analysis of Palantir (U.S. stock symbol: $PLTR).

Stock Synopsis: With a new Python program, we use, adapt, apply, and leverage each of the mainstream Gemini Gen AI models to conduct this comprehensive fund

+See More

Clayton Christensen defines the core dilemma of corporate innovation with sustainable and disruptive advances.

Daisy Harvey

2020-04-17 07:23:00 Friday ET

Clayton Christensen defines the core dilemma of corporate innovation with sustainable and disruptive advances.

Clayton Christensen defines and delves into the core dilemma of corporate innovation with sustainable and disruptive advances. Clayton Christensen (2000)

+See More

Apple upstream suppliers such as Foxconn and Pegatron experience sharp share price declines during the Christmas 2017 holiday quarter.

Jacob Miramar

2018-11-21 11:36:00 Wednesday ET

Apple upstream suppliers such as Foxconn and Pegatron experience sharp share price declines during the Christmas 2017 holiday quarter.

Apple upstream suppliers from Foxconn and Pegatron to Radiance and Lumentum experience sharp share price declines during the Christmas 2017 holiday quarter.

+See More

Pinterest files a $12 billion IPO due in mid-2019.

Laura Hermes

2019-03-09 12:43:00 Saturday ET

Pinterest files a $12 billion IPO due in mid-2019.

Pinterest files a $12 billion IPO due in mid-2019. This tech unicorn allows users to pin-and-browse images through its social media app and website. Pintere

+See More

We assess non-bank financial institutions in the new world order of modern asset management.

Daisy Harvey

2028-01-31 11:29:00 Monday ET

We assess non-bank financial institutions in the new world order of modern asset management.

Today, the major passive index funds, private equity titans, hedge funds, and exchange funds etc combine to reshape Wall Street and several other global fin

+See More

Zuckerberg announces his major changes in Facebook's newsfeed algorithm and user authentication.

Becky Berkman

2018-01-07 09:33:00 Sunday ET

Zuckerberg announces his major changes in Facebook's newsfeed algorithm and user authentication.

Zuckerberg announces his major changes in Facebook's newsfeed algorithm and user authentication. Facebook now has to change the newsfeed filter to prior

+See More