Returns to investment in education: a decennial review of the global literature
George Psacharopoulos and
Harry Patrinos
No 8402, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank
Abstract:
Returns to investment in education based on human capital theory have been estimated systematically since the 1950s. In the 60-plus year history of such estimates, there have been several compilations in the literature. This paper reviews and highlights the latest trends and patterns based on a database of 1,120 estimates in 139 countries. The review shows that the private average global rate of return to one extra year of schooling is about 9 percent a year and very stable over decades. Private returns to higher education have increased over time, raising issues of financing and equity. Social returns to schooling remain high, above 10 percent at the secondary and higher education levels. Women continue to experience higher average rates of return to schooling, showing that girls'education remains a priority. Returns are higher in low-income countries. Those employed in the private sector of the economy enjoy higher returns than those in the public sector, lending support to the productive value of education.
Keywords: Educational Sciences; Tertiary Education; Primary Education; Economics of Education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-04-11
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (219)
Downloads: (external link)
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/442521523465644318/pdf/WPS8402.pdf (application/pdf)
Related works:
Journal Article: Returns to investment in education: a decennial review of the global literature (2018)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8402
Access Statistics for this paper
More papers in Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20433. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Roula I. Yazigi (ryazigi@worldbank.org).