Higher Education, Employment, and Economic Development

<p>Recent comments on a talk radio show by North Carolina’s governor has spurred debate regarding the role of higher education in economic development (and, by extension, the role of public funding of higher education). There have been many op-eds and other statements in reaction to those comments, including from UNC President Tom Ross, as well as the UNC faculty. The purpose of this post is not to take sides in the debate, but rather, to review a few points about what we know about higher education as it relates to economic development.</p> <p></p> <p>The first important point is that higher education makes a huge difference in terms of income and employment. The following chart prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics makes this point dramatically clear:</p> Note: Data are for persons age 25 and over. Earnings are for full-time wage and salary workers.<br />Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.<br />Updated: January 28, 2013 <p>These data clearly support the economic value of higher education for individuals and households, and by extension, communities. When you look closer at differences across majors, people with STEM-related majors earn more than average, and also have higher rates of full-time, year round employment (according to research done by the U.S. Census Bureau). Other fields (like education, for example) are less lucrative, but that does not mean they are less important. Public support of those fields may be necessary to ensure that the state produces a sufficient number of graduates (such as teachers in the education field), given that the financial incentive [...]</p>