Estimates of the economic return to schooling for 28 countries

(Labour Economics: An International Journal, 9(1), 2002, pp. 1-16,
Copyright © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved)

Philip Trostel ^a, Ian Walker ^b, Paul Woolley ^c 

Abstract: The economic returns to schooling are estimated using comparable microdata in 28 countries, worldwide. Considerable variation in rates of return is found across countries. There is no evidence for a worldwide rising rate of return to education from 1985 through 1995. Indeed, the worldwide rate of return declines slightly over this period. In general, instrumental-variable estimates (using spouse’s and parents’ schooling as determinants of schooling) are over 20% higher than ordinary-least-squares estimates. 

^a University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA 
^b Department of Economics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK 
^c Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK