George Leef delves into the often recited notion that the more education a person has, the more money that person will earn. Thus, the argument goes, governments at all levels should appropriate more money to education programs.
I recommend reading the book by British education professor Alison Wolf, Does Education Matter? (Penguin Books, 2002). The American education establishment ignores that book because it exposes (and this is its subtitle) myths about education and economic growth. Wolf shows that when governments attempt to speed up economic progress by spending more on formal education, they mostly squander resources.
One example Wolf gives is Egypt, which “invested” heavily in higher education. That did not lead to rising economic output, however, because little of the students’ learning at their universities coordinated with the skills and knowledge needed for entrepreneurship and improving efficiency in the Egyptian economy. Instead, it created a mass of people with university degrees who expected high-paying jobs that did not and could not exist.
The key point is that formal education doesn’t necessarily lead to knowledge and skills the individual can use productively.
Pursuing formal education may be the right path for some people. The point is not that formal education is a waste of time. The point is that individuals should decide for themselves the path they want to take, and policymakers should realize that a degree does not guarantee marketability and prosperity.
