IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/quaeco/v70y2018icp90-111.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The total return to higher education: Is there underinvestment for economic growth and development?

Author

Listed:
  • McMahon, Walter W.

Abstract

The total return to higher education is the rate of return based on earnings plus non-monetary private and social benefits beyond earnings that captures higher education’s contribution to development. A theory of endogenous development is a new scholarly contribution where firm and household production with education externalities and the endogeneity of new ideas leads to an optimal rate of development. This rate is higher than in an economy without these externalities. Since measures of private non-market and social benefit externalities are positive, externalities contribute to higher per capita development. The total return is estimated to be considerably higher than the opportunity cost of funds and the return on physical capital, the first major evidence of serious underinvestment in higher education in the US for optimal development. Policy-relevant treatment effects and policy options with implications for optimal development and for improving the worsening condition of the dissatisfied middle class are considered.

Suggested Citation

  • McMahon, Walter W., 2018. "The total return to higher education: Is there underinvestment for economic growth and development?," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 90-111.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:quaeco:v:70:y:2018:i:c:p:90-111
    DOI: 10.1016/j.qref.2018.05.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1062976917303447
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.qref.2018.05.005?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Enrico Moretti, 2010. "Local Multipliers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 373-377, May.
    2. Richard J. Murnane, 2013. "U.S. High School Graduation Rates: Patterns and Explanations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 51(2), pages 370-422, June.
    3. Gary S. Becker, 1981. "A Treatise on the Family," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck81-1.
    4. Benhabib, Jess & Rogerson, Richard & Wright, Randall, 1991. "Homework in Macroeconomics: Household Production and Aggregate Fluctuations," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(6), pages 1166-1187, December.
    5. Milligan, Kevin & Moretti, Enrico & Oreopoulos, Philip, 2004. "Does education improve citizenship? Evidence from the United States and the United Kingdom," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(9-10), pages 1667-1695, August.
    6. Robert G. Valletta, 2018. "Recent Flattening in the Higher Education Wage Premium: Polarization, Skill Downgrading, or Both?," NBER Chapters, in: Education, Skills, and Technical Change: Implications for Future US GDP Growth, pages 313-342, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Moretti, Enrico, 2004. "Estimating the social return to higher education: evidence from longitudinal and repeated cross-sectional data," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 121(1-2), pages 175-212.
    8. James J. Heckman & John Eric Humphries & Gregory Veramendi, 2018. "Returns to Education: The Causal Effects of Education on Earnings, Health, and Smoking," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 126(S1), pages 197-246.
    9. Robert E. Lucas, 2009. "Ideas and Growth," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 76(301), pages 1-19, February.
    10. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson & Pierre Yared, 2005. "From Education to Democracy?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 44-49, May.
    11. John F. Helliwell, 2006. "Well-Being, Social Capital and Public Policy: What's New?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(510), pages 34-45, March.
    12. Arias, Omar & McMahon, Walter W., 2001. "Dynamic rates of return to education in the U.S," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 121-138, April.
    13. James J. Heckman & Lance J. Lochner & Petra E. Todd, 2008. "Earnings Functions and Rates of Return," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(1), pages 1-31.
    14. Pedro Carneiro & James J. Heckman & Edward J. Vytlacil, 2011. "Estimating Marginal Returns to Education," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(6), pages 2754-2781, October.
    15. Robert H. Haveman & Barbara L. Wolfe, 1984. "Schooling and Economic Well-Being: The Role of Nonmarket Effects," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 19(3), pages 377-407.
    16. Richard Layard, 2006. "Happiness and Public Policy: a Challenge to the Profession," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(510), pages 24-33, March.
    17. Grossman, Michael, 2006. "Education and Nonmarket Outcomes," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & F. Welch (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 10, pages 577-633, Elsevier.
    18. Lochner, Lance & Moretti, Enrico, 2002. "The Effect of Education on Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates, Arrests, and Self-Reports," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt4mf8k11n, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    19. Dee, Thomas S., 2004. "Are there civic returns to education?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(9-10), pages 1697-1720, August.
    20. Lange, Fabian & Topel, Robert, 2006. "The Social Value of Education and Human Capital," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & F. Welch (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 8, pages 459-509, Elsevier.
    21. McMahon, Walter W., 2002. "Education and Development: Measuring the Social Benefits," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199250721.
    22. Edward L. Glaeser & Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2004. "Do Institutions Cause Growth?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 9(3), pages 271-303, September.
    23. World Bank, 2017. "World Development Indicators 2017," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 26447.
    24. Rouse, Cecilia Elena, 1999. "Further estimates of the economic return to schooling from a new sample of twins," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 149-157, April.
    25. Lance Lochner & Enrico Moretti, 2004. "The Effect of Education on Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates, Arrests, and Self-Reports," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 155-189, March.
    26. Philip Oreopoulos & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2011. "Priceless: The Nonpecuniary Benefits of Schooling," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(1), pages 159-184, Winter.
    27. Yunfang Hu, 2008. "Human Capital Accumulation, Home Production And Equilibrium Dynamics," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 59(3), pages 292-311, September.
    28. Philip Oreopoulos & Uros Petronijevic, 2013. "Making College Worth It: A Review of Research on the Returns to Higher Education," NBER Working Papers 19053, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    29. Card, David, 1999. "The causal effect of education on earnings," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 30, pages 1801-1863, Elsevier.
    30. Gibson, John, 2001. "Unobservable family effects and the apparent external benefits of education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 225-233, June.
    31. Jacob Mincer, 1962. "On-the-Job Training: Costs, Returns, and Some Implications," NBER Chapters, in: Investment in Human Beings, pages 50-79, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    32. Michael Grossman, 1972. "The Demand for Health: A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number gros72-1.
    33. Kane, Thomas J & Rouse, Cecilia Elena, 1995. "Labor-Market Returns to Two- and Four-Year College," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(3), pages 600-614, June.
    34. Kristinn Hermannsson & Katerina Lisenkova & Patrizio Lecca & Peter G. McGregor & J. Kim Swales, 2017. "The external benefits of higher education," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(7), pages 1077-1088, July.
    35. Katarina R. I. Keller, 2006. "Investment In Primary, Secondary, And Higher Education And The Effects On Economic Growth," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 24(1), pages 18-34, January.
    36. Lance Lochner, 2010. "Non-Production Benefits of Education: Crime, Health and Good Citizenship," University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP) Working Papers 20107, University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP).
    37. Bartel, Ann P & Lichtenberg, Frank R, 1987. "The Comparative Advantage of Educated Workers in Implementing New Technology," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 69(1), pages 1-11, February.
    38. Moretti, Enrico, 2004. "Human capital externalities in cities," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 51, pages 2243-2291, Elsevier.
    39. Behrman, Jere R. & Rosenzweig, Mark R., 1999. ""Ability" biases in schooling returns and twins: a test and new estimates," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 159-167, April.
    40. Walter W Mcmahon, 2007. "An Analysis Of Education Externalities With Applications To Development In The Deep South," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 25(3), pages 459-482, July.
    41. Charles T. Clotfelter, 1999. "The Familiar but Curious Economics of Higher Education: Introduction to a Symposium," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 3-12, Winter.
    42. Lucas, Robert Jr., 1988. "On the mechanics of economic development," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 3-42, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Satish Chand & Michael Clemens & Helen Dempster, 2022. "Wage arbitrage through skilled emigration: Evidence from the Pacific Islands," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(3), pages 430-446, September.
    2. P. O. Bugakova & I. A. Prakhov, 2022. "The Characteristics of the University Admission System and Their Infl uence on the Accessibility of Higher Education," University Management: Practice and Analysis, Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education «Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N.Yeltsin»; Non-Commercial Partnership “University Management: Practice and, vol. 25(4).
    3. Merve Kurt & Erdal Gumus, 2021. "Returns on Investment in Education: Evidence from Turkey by Education Level and by Higher Education Program," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 238(3), pages 3-28, September.
    4. Aidan R. Vining & David L. Weimer, 2019. "The Value of High School Graduation in the United States: Per-Person Shadow Price Estimates for Use in Cost–Benefit Analysis," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-15, October.
    5. Yue Xu & Zihao Xu & Dayu Zhai & Yanyu Li, 2023. "Effects of Higher Education on Green Eco-Efficiency and Its Optimization Path: Case Study of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-19, September.
    6. Aldenis Vásquez & Rafael Alvarado & Brayan Tillaguango & Cem Işık & Muntasir Murshed, 2023. "Impact of Social and Institutional Indicators on the Homicide Rate in Ecuador: An Analysis Using Advanced Time Series Techniques," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 169(1), pages 1-22, September.
    7. Barrett J. Taylor & Brendan Cantwell, 2018. "Unequal Higher Education in the United States: Growing Participation and Shrinking Opportunities," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(9), pages 1-22, September.
    8. Pierre Canisius Kamanzi & Gaële Goastellec & Laurence Pelletier, 2021. "Mass University and Social Inclusion: The Paradoxical Effect of Public Policies," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(3), pages 32-43.
    9. Michael A. Miner, 2020. "Unmet Promises: Diminishing Confidence in Education Among College‐Educated Adults from 1973 to 2018," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 101(6), pages 2312-2331, October.
    10. Karel Brůna & Jiří Pour, 2023. "Population aging and structural over/underinvestment," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 2339-2383, August.
    11. Thi Hoai Trinh NGUYEN & Claudiu CICEA, 2019. "Budget Allocation Policy For Public Higher Education In Vietnam: A Short Radiography And Future Trends," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 13(1), pages 448-456, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Blomquist, Glenn C. & Coomes, Paul A. & Jepsen, Christopher & Koford, Brandon C. & Troske, Kenneth R., 2014. "Estimating the social value of higher education: willingness to pay for community and technical colleges," Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(1), pages 3-41, January.
    2. Walter W Mcmahon, 2007. "An Analysis Of Education Externalities With Applications To Development In The Deep South," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 25(3), pages 459-482, July.
    3. Peter H. Lindert, 2009. "Revealing Failures in the History of School Finance," NBER Working Papers 15491, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Strauss, Jack, 2013. "The Economic Gains to Colorado of Amendment 66," MPRA Paper 49928, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Yakovlev, Pavel & Leguizamon, Susane, 2012. "Ignorance is not bliss: On the role of education in subjective well-being," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 806-815.
    6. Dee, Thomas S., 2004. "Are there civic returns to education?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(9-10), pages 1697-1720, August.
    7. Damon, Amy & Glewwe, Paul, 2011. "Valuing the benefits of the education provided by public universities: A case study of Minnesota," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 1242-1261.
    8. Marc Piopiunik, 2011. "Microeconometric Analyses of Education Production in Germany," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 40.
    9. Eric A. Hanushek & Ludger Woessmann, 2008. "The Role of Cognitive Skills in Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 46(3), pages 607-668, September.
    10. Alberto Dalmazzo & Guido de Blasio, 2005. "Where do human capital externalities end up?," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 554, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    11. Kamhon Kan & Myoung‐Jae Lee, 2018. "The Effects Of Education On Fertility: Evidence From Taiwan," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(1), pages 343-357, January.
    12. Christopher H. Wheeler, 2006. "Human capital growth in a cross section of U.S. metropolitan areas," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 88(Mar), pages 113-132.
    13. Philip Oreopoulos & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2009. "How large are returns to schooling? Hint: Money isn't everything," NBER Working Papers 15339, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Ellis, Jimmy R. & Gershenson, Seth, 2020. "Gender, peer advising, and college success," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    15. Siedler, Thomas, 2007. "Schooling and Citizenship: Evidence from Compulsory Schooling Reforms," IZA Discussion Papers 2573, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Susan Dynarski, 2008. "Building the Stock of College-Educated Labor," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 43(3), pages 576-610.
    17. Rasmus Thönnessen & Erich Gundlach, 2013. "The size of human capital externalities: cross-country evidence," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 157(3), pages 671-689, December.
    18. Hofmarcher, Thomas, 2021. "The effect of education on poverty: A European perspective," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    19. Dickson, Matt & Harmon, Colm, 2011. "Economic returns to education: What We Know, What We Don’t Know, and Where We Are Going—Some brief pointers," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 1118-1122.
    20. Damon, Amy L. & Glewwe, Paul, 2008. "Should governments subsidize tuition at public universities? Assessing the benefits of tuition subsidies provided by the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities syste," Reports 44204, University of Minnesota, International Science and Technology Practice and Policy.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Endogenous development; Human capital; Growth; Education for development; Social rates of return; Education externalities; Non-monetary higher education benefits;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:quaeco:v:70:y:2018:i:c:p:90-111. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620167 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.