Returns to Education Turns 50 Event Replay (News and Research 333)
ECA Talk: Returns to Education Turns 50 on March 29, 2023, Event Replay. Watch the discussion from earlier this week reassessing progress made on measuring the benefits of education 50 years after the publication of George Psacharopoulos’ pivotal study Returns to Education. Timestamps for remarks and panel discussions during the event replay are marked under the Agenda tab.
George Psacharopoulos made reference to several seminal studies. His own book:
Psacharopoulos, G. 1973. Returns to Education: An International Comparison. Elsevier.
Papers by Psacharopoulos cited in his address:
Psacharopoulos, G. 1969. The Rate of Return on Investment in Education at the Regional Level: Estimates for the State of Hawaii. Economic Research Center, University of Hawaii.
Psacharopoulos, G. 1981. The World Bank in the World of Education: Some Policy Changes and Some Remnants. Comparative Education 17(2): 141-146
George’s latest paper on the returns to education:
Psacharopoulos, G., Patrinos, H.A. 2018. Returns to Investment in Education: A Decennial Review of the Global Literature. Education Economics 26(5): 445-458
Others mentioned include:
Becker, G. 1964. Human Capital. NBER.
Becker, G. 1960. Underinvestment in College Education? American Economic Review 50(2): 346-354.
Becker, G., Chiswick, B. 1966. Education and the Distribution of Earnings. American Economic Review 56(1/2): 358-369.
Blaug, M. 1967. A Cost-Benefit Approach to Educational Planning in Developing Countries. No. 157. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Carnoy, M. 1967. Earnings and Schooling in Mexico. Economic Development and Cultural Change 15(4): 408-419.
Hanoch, G. 1967. An Economic Analysis of Earnings and Schooling. Journal of Human Resources 2(3): 310–29.
Kuznets, S., Friedman, M. 1939. Income from Independent Professional Practice. NBER.
Mincer, J. 1962. On-the-job Training: Costs, R, and Some Implications. Journal of Political Economy 70(5, Part 2): 50-79.
Mincer, J. 1958. Investment in Human Capital and Personal Income Distribution. Journal of Political Economy 66(4): 281-302.
Schultz. T.W. 1980. Nobel Lecture: The Economics of Being Poor Schultz. Journal of Political Economy 88(4): 639-651.
Schultz. T.W. 1975. The Value of the Ability to Deal with Disequilibria. Journal of Economic Literature 13(3): 827-846.
Schultz. T.W. 1961. Investment in Human Capital Schultz. American Economic Review 51(1): 1-17.
Schultz. T.W. 1960. Capital Formation by Education. Journal of Political Economy 68(6): 571-583.
Selowsky, M. 1969. On the Measurement of Education’s Contribution to Growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics 83(3): 449-463.
Strumilin, S.G. 1925. The Economic Significance of National Education. In: Robinson, E.A.G., Vaizey, J.E. (eds) The Economics of Education. Palgrave Macmillan.
Tinbergen, J. 1975. Income Distribution: Analysis and Policies.
Walsh, J.R. 1935. Capital Concept Applied to Man. Quarterly Journal of Economics 49(2): 255-285.
Other speakers made reference to other classic articles, including:
Selowsky, M. 1981. Nutrition, Health and Education: The Economic Significance of Complementarities at Early Age. Journal of Development Economics 9(3),: 331-346.
Psacharopoulos, G. 1996. Economics of Education: A Research Agenda. Economics of Education Review 15(4): 339-344.
Other key references from speakers at the conference:
Chiswick, C.U. 1983. Analysis of Earnings from Household Enterprises: Methodology and Application to Thailand. Review of Economics and Statistics LXV: 658-662.
Chiswick, C.U. 2006. An Economic Perspective on Religious Education: Complements and Substitutes in a Human Capital Portfolio. Research in Labor Economics 24: 429-467.
Chiswick, C.U. 2009. The Economic Determinants of Ethnic Assimilation. Journal of Population Economics 22: 859-880.
Chiswick, C.U., Lehrer, E. 1990. On Marriage-Specific Human Capital: Its Role as a Determinant of Remarriage. Journal of Population Economics 3: 193-213.
Jimenez, E., Patrinos, H.A. 2009. Can cost-benefit analysis guide education policy in developing countries. Handbook of Research on Cost-Benefit Analysis. Edward Elgar.
McMahon, W.W. 2018. The total return to higher education: Is there underinvestment for economic growth and development? Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance 70: 90-111.
Psacharopoulos, G., Velez, E. 1993. Education Quality and Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from Bogota, Colombia. Sociology of Education 66(2): 130-145.
Psacharopoulos, G., Velez, E. 1992. Schooling, Ability and Earnings in Colombia, 1988. Economic Development and Cultural Change 40(3): 629-643.
Psacharopoulos, G., Rojas, C., Velez, E. 1993. Achievement Evaluation of Colombia’s Escuela Nueva. Comparative Education Review 37(3): 263-276.
Psacharopoulos, G., Vélez, E., Zabalza, A. 1986. Una evaluación de la Educación Media Diversificada en Colombia. Rojas-Eberhard Editores. Publicado para el Banco Mundial
Ritzen, J.M. 1975. Optimal investments for universal primary education. Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications 15(3): 327-339.
Ritzen, J.M, Winkler, D.R. 1977. The Production of Human Capital over Time. Review of Economics and Statistics 59(4): 427-437.
Ritzen, J.M.M. 1977. Education, Economic Growth and Income Distribution. North Holland Publishing Company.
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Submit a Manuscript to the Journal Education Economics for a Special Issue on the 50th Anniversary of the Returns to Education: An International Comparison
Manuscript deadline: 31 October 2023
Special Issue Editor: Harry Patrinos, World Bank
50th Anniversary of the Returns to Education: An International Comparison
- This year is the 50th anniversary of the publication of the book, Returns to Education: An International Comparison, by George Psacharopoulos (assisted by Keith Hinchliffe).
- Education Economics is publishing a special issue to mark this occasion and the contributions of Professor Psacharopoulos.
- The focus of this special issue is research on the returns to education.
- Research on international comparisons and /or returns to education in less developed economies are especially welcome.
Education, economics and public policy 