Comparable Estimates of Returns to Education for the World. Jobs Flagship presentation. World Bank. October 20, 2022 (ppt)

Increase in earnings associated with an increase in schooling. Each additional year of schooling raises earnings

Source: Montenegro, C.E. and H.A. Patrinos. 2021. A data set of comparable estimates of the private rate of return to schooling in the world, 1970–2014. International Journal of Manpower. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJM-03-2021-0184/full/html (Also: Montenegro, C.E. and Patrinos, H.A., 2014. Comparable estimates of returns to schooling around the world. World Bank policy research working paper 7020, https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/830831468147839247/pdf/WPS7020.pdf)

Full dataset: https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/search/dataset/0059847/comparable-returns-to-education

Smart investment: Even though more people are doing it, studying is still worthwhile | The Economist, May 3, 2018

“One additional year of schooling can increase a girls’ wages by 12 percent” — Bono (source)

Spending on education in a time of economic stress, George Psacharopoulos – 1980 | Journal of Education Finance 6,2(1980): 160-175 | During a period of economic stagnation…education becomes especially vulnerable to budgetary cuts…whereas the costs of education are, more or less, fully explicit and visible, the benefit schools return to society are mostly elusive and intangible…educational spending in general, and particularly during an economic recession…Whereas real per pupil expenditure in public elementary and secondary schools rose dramatically in the decades before the economic depression of the 1970s, it stagnated thereafter. This can be interpreted as a kind of myopia of policy makers advocating cuts in an area where the benefits are mostly long term and elusive.

Returns to education in developing countries, Economics of Education 2020 (Elsevier), HA Patrinos, G Psacharopoulos | The empirical returns to schooling literature has proven to be a useful standard. The global average private rate of return to schooling, estimated at 9%, is used as a global benchmark. Empirical evidence on returns on investment in education are a useful indicator of the …

Psacharopoulos, George and Harry Anthony Patrinos. 2018. “Returns to Education: A Decennial Review of the Global Literature.” Education Economics 26(5): 445-458. In the 60-plus year history of returns to investment in education estimates, there have been several compilations in the literature. This paper updates Psacharopoulos and Patrinos and reviews the latest trends and patterns based on 1120 estimates in 139 countries from 1950 to 2014. The private average global return to a year of schooling is 9% a year. Private returns to higher education increased, raising issues of financing and equity. Social returns to schooling remain high. Women continue to experience higher average returns to schooling, showing that girls’ education remains a priority.

Comparable estimates of returns to schooling around the world | Montenegro, Claudio E. & Patrinos, Harry Anthony, 2014. “Comparable estimates of returns to schooling around the world,” Policy Research Working Paper Series 7020, The World Bank | Rates of return to investments in schooling have been estimated since the late 1950s. In the 60-plus year history of such estimates, there have been several attempts to synthesize the empirical results to ascertain patterns. This paper presents comparable estimates, as well as a database, that use the same specification, estimation procedure, and similar data for 139 economies and 819 harmonized household surveys. This effort to compile comparable estimates holds constant the definition of the dependent variable, the set of control variables, the sample definition, and the estimation method for all surveys in the sample. The results of this study show that (1) the returns to schooling are more concentrated around their respective means than previously thought; (2) the basic Mincerian model used is more stable than may have been expected; (3) the returns to schooling are higher for women than for men; (4) returns to schooling and labor market experience are strongly and positively associated; (5) there is a decreasing pattern over time; and (6) the returns to tertiary education are highest.

Returns to investment in education: a further update| Psacharopoulos, George & Patrinos, Harry Anthony, 2002. “Returns to investment in education : a further update,” Policy Research Working Paper Series 2881, The World Bank.

George Psacharopoulos & Harry Anthony Patrinos, 2004. “Returns to investment in education: a further update,” Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(2), pages 111-134 | Returns to investment in education based on human capital theory have been estimated since the late 1950s. In the 40-plus year history of estimates of returns to investment in education, there have been several reviews of the empirical results in attempts to establish patterns. Many more estimates from a wide variety of countries, including over time evidence, and estimates based on new econometric techniques, reaffirm the importance of human capital theory. The authors review and present the latest estimates and patterns as found in the literature at the turn of the century. However, because the availability of rate of return estimates has grown exponentially, the authors include a new section on the need for selectivity in comparing returns to investment in education and establishing related patterns.