Is College Worth It?

There’s a debate going on currently regarding a significant decline in faith in whether college is worth the costs, particularly among young people. Here’s Paul Tough with the case for the prosecution, and here’s David Deming with the case for the defense. Swirling around is the usual question of whether various quantitative benefits are caused by getting a degree or whether they simply reflect the selection effects of those who self-sort into college - people who can and do go to college are people who tend to enjoy all number of advantages over those who don’t. This is an important debate, given that (for example) people with degrees enjoy not just a wage and employment premium but a significantly higher lifespan than those without. There’s a lot of literature out there, which you can peruse if you’d like.