Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/110774 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 9047
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Most OECD countries experience high unemployment rates and declining growth in higher educational attainment. An often suggested government policy is therefore to allocate resources towards formal schooling for adults. However, returns on such investments are uncertain and the foregone earnings are potentially large. We use Swedish population register data from 1982 to 2011 to estimate average long run earnings returns on higher education for 29- to 55-year-olds who enrolled 1992-1993. We find substantial positive estimates, but these only fully emerge after approximately ten years. Nevertheless, calculations indicate that the benefits for society exceed the costs also under fairly pessimistic assumptions.
Subjects: 
adult education
human capital
earnings
JEL: 
H30
H52
I20
J24
O30
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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