Do Too Many or Too Few People Get Degrees? New Evidence.
I have often written in this blog space about an important question: Should we be encouraging more persons to try to complete a college degree? Some new evidence, although far from authoritative, adds to my doubts about the advisability of promoting additional college attendance.
Let me point out we are almost at 1,000 days since President Obama said (on February 24, 2009) about higher education that “…it is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in it.” Not a right, not an entitlement, but a responsibility. The idea is that college graduation is vital to being a major player in the world economy, and patriotic Americans therefore must go to college.
Is it true that college graduation promotes economic growth? I divided the 34 nations on which we have consistent OECD data on adult degree attainment into two groups–the 17 High Attainment nations (including the U.S.), and the 17 Low Attainment nations. The High Attainment nations all have attainment rates between 28.8 percent and 45.5 percent (averaging around 34 percent), while the Low Attainment nations have rates between 15.3 percent and 25.7 percent (averaging around 21-22 percent).
