The Consumption Benefits of Literacy (original) (raw)

Analysis of economic benefits of education

Summary The study, which analyzes the economic benefits of education, divided into three parts. The first section gives a brief theoretical explanation of the variables that are used in this paper to analyze the importance of human capital and the educational system and economic benefits to society can bring. The second section presents the methodology and explains the data used for research and analysis on countries of the world. Variables used in the work and analyzes have been primarily, gross domestic product per capita and relative earnings of the population with income from employment (2010 or latest available year) by level of educational attainment in three kategories: below upper secondary education, post – secondary non – tertiary education and all tertiary education. Data refer to the academic year 2009/2010 and are based on the UOE data collection on education statistics administered by the OECD in 2010. Gross domestic product per capita (GDP p.c.) represent economic development of countries. The third part gives an analysis and interpretation of results of studies showing the impact analysis of different levels of income realized by the employees according to different degrees, or education level. The study aims to test the hypothesis that investment in education has a positive and significant impact on the economic development of countries. The study also aims to test the hypothesis that people with higher education or with higher educational attainment, generally achieve significantly higher rates of return through income from his salary and that investment in education is positively and significantly affects the level of their salaries.

Symposium on the economic returns to education

1998

The expence of the institutions of education and religious instruction is likewise, no doubt, beneficial to the whole society, and may, therefore, without injustice be defrayed by the general contributions of the whole society. This expence, however, might perhaps with equal propriety, and even with some advantage, be defrayed altogether by those who receive the immediate benefit of such education and instruction.. ." Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, (1776), Book V, Chapter 1. "We may then conclude that the wisdom of expending public and private funds on education is not to be measured by its direct fruits alone. It will be profitable as a mere investment, to give the masses of the people much greater opportunities than they can generally avail themselves of. .. And the economic value of one great industrial genius is sufficient to cover the expenses of the education of a whole town; for one new idea, such as Bessemer's chief invention, adds as much to England's productive power as the labour of a thousand men."

L'Économie De L'Éducation Fait-Elle Des Progrès ? Une Perspective D'Histoire De La Pensée Économique

Brussels Economic Review, 2007

In this paper we propose a broad survey of the main trends in the history of economic thought relative to education and human capital and try to assess whether progress has been made or not. If the main intuitions regarding the link between education and the economy were already present at the end of the 18th century, the main developments occurred mainly after WW2. We highlight the great dominant themes since the end of the 50s, showing both a kind of cyclical pattern in terms of the confidence in the beneficial role of education for the economy, as well as a continuous progress relativising the sometimes rather simple arguments of the (early) human capital school. Both an increased 'historical' awareness (role of institutions, path dependency) and the availability of larger individual datasets (allowing the econometricians to account for factors traditionally dealt with by sociologists) contributed since the 80s to the development of an economics of education that could contribute to sound social and economic policy recommandations.

Priceless: The Nonpecuniary Benefits of Schooling

Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2011

Increasing wealth provides key motivation for students to forgo earnings and struggle through exams. But, as we argue in this paper, schooling generates many experiences and affects many dimensions of skill that, in turn, affect central aspects of individuals' lives. Schooling not only affects income, but also the degree to which one enjoys work, as well as one's likelihood of being unemployed. It leads individuals to make better decisions about health, marriage, and parenting. It also improves patience, making individuals more goal-oriented and less likely to engage in risky behavior. Schooling improves trust and social interaction, and may offer substantial consumption value to some students. We discuss various mechanisms to explain how these relationships may occur independent of wealth effects and present evidence that nonpecuniary returns to schooling are at least as large as pecuniary ones. Ironically, one explanation why some early school leavers miss out on these hig...