The Economic Case for Education

A compelling economic case for education emerges from encompassing research on the large economic returns to education. Of course, the case for education can be made from many perspectives. Education can empower people to be independent citizens and participate in society, promote civic awareness and and social cohesion, and increase health consciousness. But if you like it or not, education also plays a crucial role for individual and societal economic prosperity. The knowledge and skills of the population are a leading determinant of economic growth, employment, and earnings. It would thus be irresponsible to ignore the economic role of education. This would be just as misguided as viewing education exclusively from an economic perspective. Ignoring the economic dimension of education would endanger the prosperity of future generations, with widespread consequences for unemployment, poverty, social exclusion, and the financial sustainability of social security systems.

Here you can find a short non-technical overview on this topic.

Research paper:

The Economic Case for Education. Education Economics 24 (1): 3-32, 2016

An early review of the research on individual economic returns to education can be found in:

Returns to Education in Europe (Book Review Essay). Review of World Economics/Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv 139 (2): 348-376, 2003

Two-pager:

The Economic Case for Education. EENEE Policy Brief 5/2014

Material available only in German

Non-technical contribution:

Gute Bildung schafft wirtschaftlichen Wohlstand. Forschung & Lehre 19 (10): 792-794, 2012

Contribution and interview on various aspects of the economic case for education:

Der Wahn vom Akademisierungswahn. ifo Schnelldienst 66 (23): 18-21, 2013

Wer vier Jahre studiert, verdient 40 Prozent mehr. Süddeutsche Zeitung, 24.5.2013, p. 24