EXECUTIVESUMMARY: THE VALUE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

• Higher education provides considerable value to individuals, the economies where educated individuals work and live, and society in general.

Private Returns

• Individual earnings are strongly related to educational attainment. People who have completed high school earn more than those who have not; people with a bachelor’s degree earn more than those with only a high school diploma; and those with a graduate education earn more than those with only an undergraduate education.

• Average annual earnings of individuals with a bachelor’s degree are more than 75 percent higher than the earnings of high school graduates. These additional earnings sum to over $1 million over a lifetime.

• The differential in earnings based on educational attainment has increased over time. For example, for full-time male workers between the ages of 35 and 44, the earnings premium associated with having a bachelor’s degree versus a high school diploma has risen from 38 percent in the 1980-84 period to 94 percent in 2000-03.

• The benefits to an individual from a university education vary with the quality of the institution attended. Those who graduate from an elite university earn substantially more than those who graduate from a lower-quality institution.

• To properly assess the economic value of a college education, the benefits realized in terms of higher future earnings must be discounted to adjust for the time value of money. The discounted earnings must then be weighed against the full costs of acquiring a college education including not only the tuition paid by the student, but the earnings foregone while the student is in college and the appropriations of state and local governments. When these calculations are made, the benefits of a college education are seen to be more than three times as large as the costs.

• If the value of a college education is expressed on the same basis as the return on a financial investment, the net return is on the order of 12 percent per year, over and above inflation. This compares favorably with annual returns on stocks that historically have averaged 7 percent.

• Despite the very high return on investment for the time and money spent on attaining a college degree, only one-quarter of the U.S. adult population has at least a bachelor’s degree. Academic ability and information barriers limit the number of individuals who attain a university degree.

• Financial barriers to the completion of a bachelor’s degree exist but government programs that promote access have been effective.

• The academic ability of the individual — which is shaped throughout his/her life by a variety of family and environmental factors — and the values and goals of the individual — which are strongly influenced by the education of his/her parents — are important determinants of educational attainment.

Societal Benefits

• Social benefits of a workforce with greater educational attainment and skills can be traced to the enhanced worker productivity associated with greater educational attainment. These productivity gains translate into higher output and incomes for the economy.

• Non-monetary societal benefits in regions with high proportions of college graduates include lower crime rates, greater and more informed civic participation, and improved performance across a host of socioeconomic measures.

• Intergenerational social benefits may be very large as degree attainment today translates into higher probabilities of degree attainment in future generations.

• Empirical work in econometrics suggests that after controlling for differences in amenities and individual wages, an increase in the share of college graduates in the labor force leads to significant increases in productivity and wages for all workers.

• A portion of this significant wage effect is attributable to spillovers that result from productivity gains. Simulations for Arizona using conservative estimates of these spillovers suggest that combining spillovers and individual benefits realized from a four-year college degree, degreed workers account for gross lifetime earnings that total $1.6 to $1.9 million more than workers with only a high school diploma.

• Accounting for costs of education and the time value of money, discounted lifetime net benefits from a university degree — including combined individual and societal benefits exceed $600,000 per worker —a combined internal rate of return of about 16 percent.

• A statewide simulation designed to measure the impact of raising the share of college graduates in the labor force by 0.2 percent (the median annual rate of increase observed in the econometric studies) that used Arizona data on educational costs and wages reveals that total costs match benefits after about 11 years. After accounting for the time value of money, the payback period is about 13 years and the net discounted benefits (benefits less costs) that accrue after 20 years are estimated at $364 million.

• A statewide simulation designed to measure the impact of raising the share of college graduates in the labor force by 0.2 percent (the median annual rate of increase observed in the econometric studies) that used Arizona data on educational costs and wages reveals that total costs match benefits after about 11 years. After accounting for the time value of money, the payback period is about 13 years and the net discounted benefits (benefits less costs) that accrue after 20 years are estimated at $364 million.

• Numerous estimates of the rate of return to investments in education prevail in the literature. Results suggest that significant portions of economic and job growth are attributable to human capital while discernible evidence of non-monetary benefits also is seen empirically.

Higher Education Enrollment and Finance

• Enrollment in degree-granting institutions of higher education in Arizona as a percentage of the state’s population was about equal to the national average in 2003. Many Arizonans attend community colleges but do not complete a four-year degree.

• Combining both public and private institutions, total revenues and expenditures per student at Arizona institutions of higher education were far below the national averages in 2003, among the least in the nation. Among public institutions, Arizona’s per student higher education revenues and expenditures were not as far below average, but still ranked among the bottom 10 states in the nation.

• Public financial support for higher education, as measured by government appropriations, was marginally higher in Arizona than the national per student average in 2003, with Arizona ranking just above the middle of the states. However, tuition and fees and other revenues were far below the per student average.

• Increases in public support for higher education per student have been nearly equal in Arizona and the nation. But, support nationally has not kept pace with real per capita GDP growth and real per capita GSP growth in Arizona has substantially outstripped growth in public support for higher education on a real per student basis.

Educational Attainment

• Arizona ranks in the middle of the states on the percentage of its residents possessing a bachelor’s degree, slightly below the U.S. average. However, educational attainment has increased less in Arizona than the national average in recent decades.

• Arizona compares less favorably among labor force participants, since the state’s overall educational attainment is bolstered by highly educated retirees who migrate to the state at retirement.

• The educational attainment of young adults in Arizona is substantially below the national average.

• Among those educated in Arizona and among immigrants to the state, educational attainment is relatively low. In contrast, the attainment of interstate migrants is considerably higher.

Geographic Distribution of the University-Educated Population

• To realize a high share of college graduates in its population, a region must either graduate a large number of people from local institutions of higher education or attract college graduates from other regions.

• Labor force participants with university degrees are highly mobile in terms of their residence. Thus, the number of university graduates from local institutions of higher education is not necessarily highly related to the number of college graduates living in a community.

• In any community, the retention of locally educated individuals and the attraction of highly educated people from other regions are heavily dependent on the availability of job opportunities appropriate for those with college degrees. Urban and natural amenities also are important to the attraction and retention of college graduates.

• National studies indicate that a statistically significant relationship exists between the number of new college graduates in a state and average educational attainment in the state’s adult population. But the strength of this relationship appears modest.

• Using national data, studies find that if an additional 100 college-bound students choose to attend college in a given state, the long-run effect of raising the college-educated workforce in that state will be only 5-to-10 workers. Nationally, it is college attendance per se, not where students choose to attend, that is the crucial determinant of educational attainment in a given workforce. Educated workers migrate in search of occupations that align with their skill sets.

Policy Issues

• Despite the high rate of return to higher education, only one-quarter of the U.S. population has obtained a four-year college degree. Underinvestment in higher education occurs.

• Impediments to college degree attainment include family financial constraints, lack of academic skills necessary for success, and an apparent lack of knowledge or belief in the large effect that a college education has on an individual's future earnings.

• While policy interventions designed to address financial access are abundant, more attention may be needed to address the information and ability concerns

• Evidence does not exist that local production of graduates, in isolation, will be an effective economic development strategy. A portfolio approach — that incorporates higher education and that is aimed at quality workforce development, quality public infrastructure, an emphasis on quality of life and amenities, and efforts to attain and maintain business climate conducive to attracting quality employment opportunities — may yield the highest returns.

Overview

• Higher education provides considerable value to individuals, to the economies where educated individuals live and work, and society in general. Economies that have experienced substantial investment in either private or public institutions of higher learning have realized considerable growth and prosperity.

• Higher education influences economic well-being in three ways. First, the direct expenditures by the institutions, their employees, and their students impact the local economy. This spending multiplies through the local economy until the monies are used to purchase goods and services from outside the local area. Such economic impacts have been estimated at many institutions of higher education. For example, the total impact of Arizona State University was estimated at 37,000 jobs resulting in more than $1 billion in wages each year. However, only the higher education revenues originating from outside the local economy — such as from National Science Foundation grants — and the spending of out-of-state students and their parents can be considered a unique economic impact of higher education.

• Second, higher education provides financial and non-financial benefits to the individual who pursues an advanced education and to society in general. The average earnings of individuals are closely related to their educational attainment. In particular, those with a bachelor’s degree earn substantially more than even those with some college education. Relative to those with a bachelor’s degree, a postgraduate degree provides nearly as large a boost in earnings. In addition, society benefits from an educated populace. The average wage — even for those workers who do not possess much educational attainment — is higher in communities with a substantial proportion of highly educated workers. Various other benefits to society also are realized from enhanced educational attainment, such as a lower crime rate. This report provides a detailed analysis of the impacts of enhanced educational attainment.

• Third, institutions of higher education are increasingly focused on knowledge creation. Thus, universities are sources of key research and development innovations that simultaneously can be beneficial to society and conducive to economic growth. This topic will be discussed in a future report of the Productivity and Prosperity Project.

Benefits to Individuals of Enhanced Educational Attainment

• Individual earnings are directly related to educational attainment. Those with a high school diploma earn more than those who did not graduate from high school, those who received some college credits earn more than those whose education ended with a high school diploma, those with a bachelor’s degree earn more than those with some college credits, and those with a graduate degree earn more than those with a bachelor’s degree as their highest attainment. In particular, those with a bachelor’s degree earn substantially more than those with some college credits. A postgraduate degree provides an additional boost in earnings.

• Earnings vary widely with educational attainment. For example, 2000 census data revealed that average annual earnings of individuals with a bachelor’s degree was from 74 to 87 percent higher (depending on age) than the earnings of individuals whose maximum educational attainment was a high school diploma. Over a career, an individual with a bachelor’s degree earns on average in excess of $1 million more than a counterpart with only a high school diploma. Based on a cost-benefit analysis over a person’s working life, the expected net return from an individual’s payment of tuition and fees and foregone income while obtaining a bachelor’s degree is in excess of 11 percent, a rate that compares favorably with real returns on most financial assets.

• The differential in earnings based on educational attainment has increased over time. For example, for full-time male workers between the ages of 35 and 44, the earnings differential between those having a bachelor’s degree and those with a high school diploma has risen from 38 percent in the 1980-84 period to 94 percent in 2000-03. This rising differential constitutes the principal evidence for the emerging “knowledge economy.”

• The benefits to an individual from a university education vary with the quality of the institution attended. In studies of universities, quality is defined by measures such as average faculty salaries and average test scores of entering freshmen. These studies generally find that the quality of the institution has a significant effect on the earnings of graduates later in life. Those who graduate from elite institutions earn substantially more than those who graduate from lower-quality institutions. Some evidence also exists that the value of a college education is higher for those who attend graduate degree-granting research institutions, such as Arizona State University.

• A long-standing concern of researchers has been that individuals who are successful in school tend to have high cognitive and non-cognitive abilities and these abilities would have provided them with greater earnings capacity whether or not they chose to become highly educated. While controlling for innate ability when studying the effects of education on earnings is difficult, the consensus view of labor market researchers is that the effects of “ability bias” are small in data comparing educational attainment to earnings. The true benefit of educational attainment is not much below the estimate observed in a simple cross-tabulation of earnings and education.

• Despite the very high return on investment for the time and money spent on attaining a college degree, only one-quarter of the U.S. adult population (28 percent of those 25-to-34 years old) has at least a bachelor’s degree. Three barriers — financial, ability, and information — limit the number of individuals who attain a university degree.

• The available evidence suggests that no more than 8 percent of the youth population fail to complete college simply because of a lack of financial resources, undoubtedly due in large part to government programs that help to ease financing burdens. A review of the literature reveals that the academic ability of the individual, which is shaped throughout his/her life by a variety of family and environmental factors, and the values and goals of the individual, which are strongly influenced by the education of his/her parents, are the main determinants of educational attainment. A lack of information on the costs and benefits of higher education may underlie these factors.

Societal Benefits of Enhanced Educational Attainment

• In regions with a highly educated labor force, all workers — not just those with advanced educational achievements — receive higher wages than their counterparts in regions with lesser educational attainment. These monetary benefits have been measured using widely varying techniques, such as by examining the economic performance of regions with different shares of college graduates in the labor force.

• Recent research indicates that significantly higher wages are present in regions with greater shares of college graduates in the labor force. An extensive econometric analysis found that after controlling for other factors, a 1 percentage point increase in the labor force share of college graduates in a metropolitan area yields a 1.9 percent increase in the wages for high school dropouts, a 1.6 percent gain in the wages of high school graduates, and a 0.4 percent rise in the wages of the graduates themselves, over and above the average wage differential between

• Individuals with college degrees and those with less education. One explanation for these higher wages in areas with higher educational attainment is the enhancement of productivity that comes with a workforce with more education and skills.

• In a simulation that applied these wage estimates to Arizona data, a conservative estimate of the portion of this annual wage appreciation that occurs due to social spillovers is $16,000 per university graduate. Adding social spillovers to the more than 11 percent expected net return received by individuals who have at least a bachelor’s degree increases the net return to nearly 16 percent.

• A second simulation was designed to measure the aggregate social costs and benefits of a program to permanently increase the labor force share of university graduates by 0.2 percent (the average annual increase measured in the econometric analysis) in Arizona, which amounts to about 4,500 workers as of 2005. After accounting for the time value of money and comparing the monetary costs and benefits, the payback period was estimated to be 13 years. After 20 years, discounted social benefits exceed discounted social costs by $364 million. The net benefits would be higher if the costs were reduced by providing incentives for students to graduate in a timely fashion and to seek employment in Arizona after graduation from the university.

• In addition to the monetary societal benefits of enhanced educational attainment, regions with greater shares of educated workers, especially highly educated workers, enjoy lower crime rates, have fewer demands placed upon social services, greater civic participation, and improved personal health. These benefits accrue to subsequent generations.

Empirical Data on Higher Education Enrollment and Finance

• Enrollment in degree-granting institutions of higher education in Arizona as a percentage of the state’s population was about equal to the national average in 2003. The Arizona figure was higher than the national average at private for-profit institutions, slightly greater than the national average at public institutions, but considerably below average at private not-for-profit institutions.

• Total revenues and expenditures per student at Arizona institutions of higher education were far below the national averages in 2003, among the least in the nation. Among public institutions, Arizona’s per student higher education revenues and expenditures were not as far below average, but still ranked among the bottom 10 states in the nation.

• The ability to pay for education is below average in Arizona due to the state’s subpar incomes. Thus, the state’s higher education revenues and expenditures per student adjusted for income were not as far below the national average in 2003. Among public institutions, Arizona’s per student revenues and expenditures were close to the national average, ranking near the middle of the states.

• Public financial support for higher education, as measured by government appropriations, was marginally higher in Arizona than the national per student average in 2003, with Arizona ranking just above the middle of the states. Adjusted by the state’s ability to pay, public support for higher education in Arizona was considerably higher in 2003 than the national average.

• Increases in public support for higher education per student have been nearly equal in Arizona and the nation. However, the increases have not been as great as gains in the ability to pay, particularly in Arizona. Support nationally has not kept pace with real per capita GDP growth and real per capita GSP growth in Arizona has substantially outstripped growth in public support for higher education on a real per student basis.

Empirical Data on Educational Attainment

• As measured by the percent of the population 25 years and older with at least a bachelor’s degree, educational attainment in Arizona is near average. Arizona ranked 25th among the states according to the 2000 census, with 23.5 percent possessing a bachelor’s degree, slightly below the U.S. average of 24.4 percent.

• However, Arizona compares less favorably among those in the labor force, since the state’s overall educational attainment is bolstered by highly educated retirees who migrate to the state at retirement. The educational attainment of young adults (especially those than 35 years of age) in Arizona is considerably lower than the national average, while the attainment of those 65 or older is higher than average. The comparatively low attainment of young adults reflects both the below-average achievement of children educated in Arizona and the strong net in-migration of young, poorly educated people.

• Among those born in Arizona and living in the state in 2000, the percentage of those 25 or older with a bachelor’s degree was only 18 percent, just half of the figure of Arizona residents born elsewhere in the United States. Among those born in another country but living in Arizona in 2000, the share with a university degree was slightly higher than that of Arizona natives.

• Educational attainment has increased in recent decades in every state. This has occurred primarily because of the deaths of the less-educated older generations. Educational attainment among young adults has increased only a little. Arizona’s ranking among the states on the percentage with a bachelor’s degree declined between 1980 and 2000, from 19th in 1980 to 24th in 2000. The state ranked just 39th on the change in educational attainment between 1980 and 2000.

The Geographic Distribution of the University-Educated Population

• For a region to realize the benefits from a highly educated populace, it must be able to either achieve an adequate number of college graduates at its local institutions of higher education or attract such individuals from other regions. National data reveal considerable labor force migration of college graduates. Thus, the number of university graduates from local institutions of higher education is not necessarily highly related to the number of college graduates living in a community.

• The retention of locally educated individuals and the attraction of highly educated people from other regions are heavily dependent on the availability of job opportunities appropriate for those with college degrees. Urban and natural amenities also are important to the attraction and retention of college graduates. Business climates that attract businesses with quality opportunities that require the skills of an educated workforce are obviously a key determinant.

• National studies indicate that a statistically significant relationship exists between the number of new college graduates in a state and average educational attainment in the state’s adult population. But the strength of this relationship appears modest. Studies find that if an additional 100 college-bound students choose to attend college in a given state, the long-run effect of raising the college-educated workforce in that state will be only 5-to-10 workers. Nationally, it is college attendance per se, not where students choose to attend, that is the crucial determinant of educational attainment in a given workforce. Educated workers migrate in search of occupations that align with their skill sets.

Public Policy Issues

• A primary conclusion of this report is that college education yields high rewards that accrue to individuals and to the communities where they ultimately find employment. Policies that eliminate barriers (informational, ability, or financial) and result in tangible increases in the number of degree holders are interventions that should be pursued. Considerable effort has already been undertaken to alleviate financial barriers and these efforts have brought results. Effective policies aimed at increasing both enrollment and degree completion rates simultaneously could be equally rewarding.

• The barriers pose significant challenges and debate over the efficacy and cost of alternative policy options will occur, but in the end the potential rewards are very high. Empirical estimates capturing the magnitude of these rewards are detailed in this report – including significant monetary returns as well as a long list of non-monetary returns that continue to yield benefits over generations.

• The availability of local institutions (both public and private) can be encouraged to help meet the local demands exerted by the explosive growth in Arizona’s population. National data suggest that more expenditure (both public and private) is devoted toward the production of college graduates in other states than take place in Arizona. Public and/or private investments that lead to tangible increases in degree attainment stand to deliver significant returns to the students that earn the degrees and to the economies where they ultimately live and work. And increases in the quality of the education can lead to greater contributions to individual and societal prosperity.

• While local production is an important component, a narrow policy agenda exclusively focused on producing more college graduates locally is not likely to be sufficient in attaining the ultimate goal of increasing the proportion of productive, highly skilled workers in the labor force. Interventions that encourage quality job opportunities, amenities that attract businesses that offer quality opportunities, and a business climate that nurtures entrepreneurship and innovation are important ingredients. And high quality local universities can play a key role in crafting this climate. But, broad public policy initiatives that support a high quality transportation, energy/water, communication, and education infrastructure will help nurture a business climate that provides gainful employment opportunities needed to retain the graduates that are produced locally. Those opportunities also can serve as a magnet for the mobile set of educated people that are produced each year across the nation.

OVERVIEW

• Higher education provides considerable value to individuals, economies where educated individuals reside, and society in general. Economies that have experienced substantial investment in either private or public institutions of higher learning have realized considerable growth and prosperity.

• Higher education influences economic well-being in three ways, as illustrated in Figure 1. First, direct expenditures by the institutions, their employees, and their students impact the local economy, as shown in panel A of Figure 1. This spending multiplies through the local economy until the monies are used to purchase goods and services from outside the local area. Such economic impacts have been estimated at many institutions of higher education. For example, the total impact of Arizona State University was estimated at 37,000 jobs resulting in more than $1 billion in wages each year [L. William Seidman Research Institute, 2003]. However, only the higher education revenues originating from outside the local economy — such as from National Science Foundation grants — and the spending of out-of-state students and their parents can be considered a unique economic impact of higher education.

• Second, higher education provides financial and non-financial benefits to the individual who pursues an advanced education and to society in general (see panel B of Figure 1). The average earnings of individuals are closely related to their educational attainment. In particular, those with a bachelor’s degree earn substantially more than even those with some college education. Relative to those with a bachelor’s degree, a postgraduate degree provides nearly as large a boost in earnings. In addition, society benefits from an educated populace. The average wage — even for those workers who do not possess much educational attainment — is higher in communities with a substantial proportion of highly educated workers. Various other benefits to society also are realized from enhanced educational attainment, such as a lower crime rate. This report provides a detailed analysis of the impacts of enhanced educational attainment.

• Third, institutions of higher education are increasingly focused on knowledge creation (panel C of Figure 1). Thus, universities are sources of key research and development innovations that simultaneously can be beneficial to society and conducive to economic growth. This topic will be discussed in a future report of the Productivity and Prosperity Project.

• The first two chapters of this report demonstrate the value of higher education. Chapter I presents the substantial financial benefits to individuals that result from enhanced educational attainment and examines the reasons why more people do not pursue higher education given the high rate of return from doing so. Chapter II demonstrates the value to the economy and to society in general of a highly educated populace, in the forms of higher wages to all workers, increased productivity, and nonmonetary benefits to society.

• The next two chapters examine factual data on how Arizona compares to the national average and to other states on measures of higher education. Chapter III looks at higher education enrollment and finance, while Chapter IV presents data on educational attainment. While Arizona falls in the middle of the states on higher education enrollment (relative to the size of the population) and the educational attainment of all adults, the educational achievement of labor force participants is subpar and total revenues per student in institutions of higher education are far below average.

• Given the benefits of a highly educated workforce and Arizona’s below-average performance, the last two chapters look at issues regarding the location decisions of highly educated people. Chapter V reviews the evidence while Chapter VI presents policy options that might result in enhanced educational attainment in Arizona.

I. BENEFITS TO INDIVIDUALS OF ENHANCED EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Summary

• Individual earnings are strongly related to educational attainment. People who have completed high school earn more than those who have not; people with a bachelor’s degree earn more than those with only a high school diploma; and those with a graduate education earn more than those with only an undergraduate education.

• Average annual earnings of individuals with a bachelor’s degree are more than 75 percent higher than the earnings of individuals whose maximum educational attainment is a high school diploma. Over a career, an individual with a bachelor’s degree earns on average in excess of $1 million more than a counterpart with only a high school diploma.

• The differential in earnings based on educational attainment has increased over time. For example, for full-time male workers between the ages of 35 and 44, the earnings premium associated with having a bachelor’s degree versus a high school diploma has risen from 38 percent in the 1980-84 period to 94 percent in 2000-03.

• The benefits to an individual from a university education vary with the quality of the institution attended. Those who graduate from an elite university earn substantially more than those who graduate from a lower-quality institution.

• To properly assess the economic value of a college education, the benefits realized in terms of higher future earnings must be discounted to adjust for the time value of money. The discounted earnings must then be weighed against the full costs of acquiring a college education including not only the tuition paid by the student, but the earnings foregone while the student is in college and the appropriations of state and local governments. When these calculations are made, the benefits of a college education are seen to be more than three times as large as the costs.

• If the value of a college education is expressed on the same basis as the return on a financial investment, the net return is on the order of 12 percent per year, over and above inflation. This compares favorably with annual returns on stocks that historically have averaged 7 percent.

• Despite the very high return on investment for the time and money spent on attaining a college degree, only one-quarter of the U.S. adult population has at least a bachelor’s degree. Academic ability and information barriers limit the number of individuals who attain a university degree.

• Financial barriers to the completion of a bachelor’s degree exist but government programs that promote access have been effective.

• The academic ability of the individual — which is shaped throughout his/her life by a variety of family and environmental factors — and the values and goals of the individual — which are strongly influenced by the education of his/her parents — are the main determinants of educational attainment.

Introduction

Education provides a variety of benefits to students including enhanced social skills, greater awareness of human achievement, and an appreciation for cultural diversity. But education is increasingly viewed as an economic investment. Education provides a student with skills that are valued by employers and increases lifetime earnings capacity. In this chapter the statistical evidence on the effect of educational attainment on earnings is examined to determine the economic rate of return realized when an individual invests in a college education. Particular emphasis is placed on the value an individual receives from completing a bachelor’s degree.

In calculating the return on a college education, this chapter considers as benefits only the incremental earnings realized by the individual who earns the college degree. Spillover benefits that accrue to other parties are potentially significant, but they are not considered until the next chapter of the report. Following the conventional language used by economists, the return to education presented in this chapter is referred to as the “private return to education.” When all benefits are considered, including spillovers received by other individuals, the calculated return is referred to as the “social return to education.”

To determine the economic value of a college education, benefits must be weighed against the full costs of obtaining that education. These costs include the tuition payments made by the college attendee, the opportunity costs associated with earnings foregone while in college, and in the case of a public university the appropriations of state and local governments. The return on investment calculated using full costs is a more useful guide for public policy than one calculated using only the costs incurred by the student. College may represent a good personal investment for an individual if that education is highly subsidized by the government. But college is shown to represent a wise use of society’s resources when the value of the enhanced skills the individual receives, as measured by increased earnings capacity, exceeds the full resource costs of providing that education.

The Relationship Between Earnings and Educational Attainment

The economic value of educational attainment is apparent from cross-tabulations of national data on individual earnings and educational attainment (see Table I:1 and the graphical depiction of this table in Figure I:1). Since annual individual earnings vary with the number of hours worked over the year, the data are for full-time, year-round workers. The latest data from the Current Population Survey, for 2002 and 2003, are depicted.

Since the age of an individual is strongly related to the number of years of work experience, and earnings rise with work experience, earnings increase with age regardless of the amount of educational attainment. In addition, in each age group, earnings increase with educational attainment.

The positive relationship between education and earnings is unmistakable and universal. Workers who have completed high school earn more than those who have not; those with some college earn more than those with only a high school education; people who have earned a college degree earn more than those with a partial college education; and those with a graduate degree earn more than those with only a bachelor’s degree. These relationships hold for all age groups.

The earnings premium from a college education was substantial in 2002-03. Workers in the 30-34 age group earned on average $24,100 or 77 percent more if they had a bachelor’s degree than if they only had a high school diploma. For workers in the 40-44 age group, those with a four-year degree enjoyed an earnings premium of $30,700 or 87 percent relative to high school graduates. For workers of age 50-to-54, those with a bachelor’s degree earned $29,000 or 82 percent more than those with a high school education.

Earnings by age and educational attainment for Arizonans are shown in Table I:2 and Figure I:2. Since the Current Population Survey data are not reliable by state, these data are from the 2000 Census and refer to earnings in the year 1999. The data are for people who live in Arizona but who may have been educated anywhere in the world.

The positive association between education and earnings also is obvious in the Arizona data. For example, for Arizona workers between the ages of 40 and 44, those with a bachelor’s degree earned $28,200 or 87 percent more than those with only a high school education.