Education Pays

Sandy Baum

Independent Higher Education Policy AnalystSenior Fellow, George Washington University School of

Education and Human Development

Illinois College Access and Success ConferenceJuly 2011

Median Earnings and Tax Payments of Full-Time Year-Round Workers Ages 25 and Older, by Education

Level, 2008

Sources: The College Board, Education Pays 2010, Figure 1.1; U.S. Census Bureau, 2009; Internal Revenue Service, 2008; Davis et al., 2009; calculations by the authors.

• Richard Vedder, Charles Murray, etc.

• Comparing unemployment rates: College graduates / overall or college graduates / high school graduates• Earnings comparisons Choice of years and gender

• Why??• Other people’s children

The Controversy

Estimated Cumulative Earnings Net of Loan Repayment for Tuition and Fees, by Education Level

Sources: The College Board, Education Pays 2010, Figure 1.3; U.S. Census Bureau, 2009; The College Board, 2009; calculations by the authors.

Median, 25th Percentile, and 75th Percentile Earnings

of Full-Time Year-Round Workers Ages 25 and Older, by Gender and Education Level, 2008

Sources: The College Board, Education Pays 2010, Figure 1.5; U.S. Census Bureau, 2009; calculations by the authors.

Median Earnings of Full-Time Year-Round Workers Ages 25–34, by Gender and Education Level, 1971–

2008 (in Constant 2008 Dollars)

Sources: The College Board, Education Pays 2010, Figure 1.6; National Center for Education Statistics, 2004; U.S. Census Bureau, 2003–2009; Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010g; calculations by the authors.

Median Hourly Wage Gain per Year of Schooling, 1973, 1989, and 2007

Sources: The College Board, Education Pays 2010, Figure 1.7b; Autor, 2010.

Labor Force Participation Rates Among Individuals Ages 25 and Older, by Gender and Education Level,

First Quarter 2010

Sources: The College Board, Education Pays 2010, Figure 1.8b; Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010e.

Unemployment Rates Among Individuals Ages 25 and Older, by Education Level, 1992–2009

Sources: The College Board, Education Pays 2010, Figure 1.10a; Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010d.

Smoking Rates Among Individuals Ages 25 and Older,

by Education Level, 1940–2008

Sources: The College Board, Education Pays 2010, Figure 1.16a; DeWalque, 2004; National Center for Health Statistics, 2009, Table 61; NCHS, 2008; calculations by the authors.

Exercise Rates Among Individuals Ages 25 and Older,

by Age and Education Level, 2008

Sources: The College Board, Education Pays 2010, Figure 1.17; National Center for Health Statistics, 2008; calculations by the authors.

Obesity Rates Among Children and Adolescents Ages 2 to 19, by Age and Highest Household Education Level,

2008

Sources: The College Board, Education Pays 2010, Figure 1.18b; National Center for Health Statistics, 2007–2008; CDC, 2010a; calculations by the authors.

Percentage of Kindergartners Through Fifth-Graders Whose Parents Reported Participating in Education-

Related Activities with Their Children in the Past Month, by Parents’ Highest Education Level, 2007

Sources: The College Board, Education Pays 2010, Figure 1.20b; National Center for Education Statistics, 2009, Table 24.

Voting Rates Among U.S. Citizens, by Age and Education Level, 2008

Sources: The College Board, Education Pays 2010, Figure 1.22; U.S. Census Bureau, 2008.

Postsecondary Enrollment Rates of Recent High School Graduates by Family Income, 1984–2008

Sources: The College Board, Education Pays 2010, Figure 2.1; National Center for Education Statistics, 2010.

Percentage of 1999 Entrants at Flagship Universities Graduating Within Six Years, by Parental Education

Level and Family Income, Adjusted for Student Characteristics

Sources: The College Board, Education Pays 2010, Figure 2.5a; Bowen et al., 2009.

Percentage of First-Time Full-Time Students Beginning Bachelor’s Degree Programs in 2002 Who Earned a B.A. at the Original Institution Within Six Years, by Sector and

Race/Ethnicity

Sources: The College Board, Education Pays 2010, Figure 2.6b; National Center for Education Statistics, 2008b.

Percentage of High School Graduates and of All Youths Enrolling in College Immediately After High

School, Selected States, 2005–06

Sources: The College Board, Education Pays 2010, Figure 2.10; National Center for Education Statistics, 2009, Tables 105 and 203.