- Joined
- Apr 20, 2018
- Messages
- 10,257
- Reaction score
- 4,161
- Location
- Washington, D.C.
- Gender
- Undisclosed
- Political Leaning
- Undisclosed
Modeling long-run economic costs & benefits of improving attainment by increasing completion rates
Rubric:
Based on the findings of the above referenced study and meta-analysis, I think that insofar as economic returns to higher education remain high and provide a pathway forindividual economic mobility, the U .S. should revise its discretionary spending priorities to avail the citizenry of free post-secondary education, at least up to the baccalaureate level.
Rubric:
There is strong evidence that raising the level of attainment of higher educationdegrees has historically yielded long-run economic and social benefits in theUnited States. Yet investing in greater educational success is costly, becauseit involves sending more students to college for longer periods of time, andbecause further investment may be needed to improve attainment rates. In thisreport, we present a simple model of the long-run economic costs and benefitsof improving attainment by increasing completion rates.
Given the assumptions of our model, costs exceed benefits over a numberof years, but economic returns later begin to kick in and eventually the programof investment yields a positive net economic return....
....The significant returns to education mean that if the costs of increasing completioncan be kept in check, the benefits are likely to exceed the costs in the longrun. At an individual level, David Autor estimates that after accounting for theeffects on higher wages and the costs of a degree, the net lifetime gain from collegefor a man is currently $590,000 and for a woman $390,000.19 However, thegains from education accrue over a lifetime of working. Initially, increasing collegecompletion leads to higher fiscal spending and lower employment. For this reason,the fiscal costs of improving the college attainment rate of the population willexceed the fiscal benefits for the first decade under the most plausible assumptions.
-- The Economic Impact of Increasing College Completion
Despite thetremendous heterogeneity across potential college students, we conclude that the investment appearsto payoff for both the average and marginal student. During the past three decades in particular, theearnings premium associated with a college education has risen substantially. Beyond the pecuniarybenefits of higher education, we suggest that there also may exist non-pecuniary benefits.
-- Literature Review of Research on the Returns to Higher Education
Given the assumptions of our model, costs exceed benefits over a numberof years, but economic returns later begin to kick in and eventually the programof investment yields a positive net economic return....
....The significant returns to education mean that if the costs of increasing completioncan be kept in check, the benefits are likely to exceed the costs in the longrun. At an individual level, David Autor estimates that after accounting for theeffects on higher wages and the costs of a degree, the net lifetime gain from collegefor a man is currently $590,000 and for a woman $390,000.19 However, thegains from education accrue over a lifetime of working. Initially, increasing collegecompletion leads to higher fiscal spending and lower employment. For this reason,the fiscal costs of improving the college attainment rate of the population willexceed the fiscal benefits for the first decade under the most plausible assumptions.
-- The Economic Impact of Increasing College Completion
Despite thetremendous heterogeneity across potential college students, we conclude that the investment appearsto payoff for both the average and marginal student. During the past three decades in particular, theearnings premium associated with a college education has risen substantially. Beyond the pecuniarybenefits of higher education, we suggest that there also may exist non-pecuniary benefits.
-- Literature Review of Research on the Returns to Higher Education
Based on the findings of the above referenced study and meta-analysis, I think that insofar as economic returns to higher education remain high and provide a pathway forindividual economic mobility, the U .S. should revise its discretionary spending priorities to avail the citizenry of free post-secondary education, at least up to the baccalaureate level.