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

Mitch Anthony explains why it is important for sales leaders to apply sound social skills and emotional competences to fulfill customer needs, wants, demands, desires, and other preferences.

Jonah Whanau

2025-07-12 11:35:00 Saturday ET

Mitch Anthony explains why it is important for sales leaders to apply sound social skills and emotional competences to fulfill customer needs, wants, demands, desires, and other preferences.

Mitch Anthony explains why it is now more important for top sales leaders to apply social skills and emotional competences to fulfill customer needs, wants,

+See More

Most agile lean enterprises often choose to cut costs strategically to make their respective business models fit for growth.

Daphne Basel

2020-10-27 07:43:00 Tuesday ET

Most agile lean enterprises often choose to cut costs strategically to make their respective business models fit for growth.

Most agile lean enterprises often choose to cut costs strategically to make their respective business models fit for growth. Vinay Couto, John Plansky,

+See More

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) considers its majority vote to dismantle net neutrality rules.

John Fourier

2017-12-13 06:39:00 Wednesday ET

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) considers its majority vote to dismantle net neutrality rules.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has decided its majority vote to dismantle rules and regulations of most Internet service providers (ISPs) that

+See More

Tim Berners-Lee suggests that several tech titans might need to be split up in response to some recent data breach and privacy concerns.

Chanel Holden

2018-11-09 11:35:00 Friday ET

Tim Berners-Lee suggests that several tech titans might need to be split up in response to some recent data breach and privacy concerns.

The Internet inventor Tim Berners-Lee suggests that several tech titans might need to be split up in response to some recent data breach and privacy concern

+See More

Barry Eichengreen compares the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Great Recession as historical episodes of economic woes.

Olivia London

2023-03-21 11:28:00 Tuesday ET

Barry Eichengreen compares the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Great Recession as historical episodes of economic woes.

Barry Eichengreen compares the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Great Recession as historical episodes of economic woes. Barry Eichengreen (2016)

+See More

These famous quotes of self-made billionaires are inspirational words of wisdom on investment management.

Joseph Corr

2017-06-27 05:40:00 Tuesday ET

These famous quotes of self-made billionaires are inspirational words of wisdom on investment management.

These famous quotes of self-made billionaires are inspirational words of wisdom on financial management, innovation, and entrepreneurship. For financial

+See More