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Economic Development Quarterly Articles Tackle Higher Education Return Rates

The November 2003 issue of Economic Development Quarterly (EDQ) has two articles on the effect college education on economic growth. One is, "Educational Attainment and Metropolitan Growth," by Paul Gottlieb and Michael Fogarty, and the other is, "The Returns on Higher Education," by Stephan J. Goetz and Anil Rupasingha.

(Thanks to Southern Compass for passing this along- Russ)

The authors in the first article found that, "There was a significant relationship between educational attainment in 1980 and the rate of per capita income and employment during the next 17 years." In the second article, the authors warn states that the impact of added college graduates will not be the same in all states.

The study concludes, in effect, that simply pouring out more degree holders will not in itself be enough to raise per capita income. There must also be a business base with jobs that can make the most out of the college skills. Only Virginia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee are estimated to have average or above average returns on higher investment.

The full text of the EDQ is not available on the Web, but for more information, on EDQ, visit http://www.sagepub.com/journal.aspx?pid=19

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