Thursday, January 09, 2014

More college doesn't necessarily result in economic growth

Not surprising to anyone who has read William Easterly's The Elusive Quest for Growth - but it bears repeating that no, more education won't necessarily mean a better economy

Egypt, which “invested” heavily in higher education. That did not lead to rising economic output, however, because little of the students’ learning at their universities coordinated with the skills and knowledge needed for entrepreneurship and improving efficiency in the Egyptian economy. Instead, it created a mass of people with university degrees who expected high-paying jobs that did not and could not exist.

The key point is that formal education doesn’t necessarily lead to knowledge and skills the individual can use productively.

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