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Workforce Development in Maine:
Held Back by the Lack
of Higher Education
Prepared by
Philip A. Trostel
Department of Economics &
Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy
University of Maine
Orono, ME 04469-5715
1-207-581-1651
philip.trostel@maine.edu
December 2002
This is the third of a four-part series on economic
development in Maine. This work was funded by the U.S. Economic
Development Administration. Helpful research assistance was provided by
Ewa Kleczyk.
Executive
Summary
Almost two-thirds of income in Maine is from labor earnings. Thus,
workforce development is crucial for economic prosperity in the state.
This study examines what we believe to be the crucial issue for workforce
development in Maine, namely, higher education. The intent of this report
is to provide some factual context that will be useful for policy analysis
for the State. These are our main findings.
- As in the rest of the country, investment in education pays off in
Maine. This is true for individuals on average, as well as for the
state as a whole.
- Maine is well behind New England and the rest of country in college
attainment. This is probably the primary reason why the state is
behind New England and the rest of the country in terms of economic
prosperity.
- If we as a state want to attract significantly more high-wage jobs,
we must produce more high-skill workers.
- Maine does relatively well in various measures of primary and
secondary education. We should be careful, however, in inferring from
this that our K-12 public schools are much better than in the rest of
the country. All of our better-than-average performance in K-12
education is evidently attributable to the lack of ethnic diversity in
the state.
- In preparing our young people for college, Maine public high schools
appear to be well below the national average.
- Lack of college aspirations does not appear to be the reason for
Maine's low education attainment.
- Maine is losing an alarming number of our college-bound young people
to other states. This is the primary reason for the relatively low
attainment of college education in the state.
- Maine is behind in college attendance mainly because of its
relatively low level of public support for higher education.
- The exodus of Maine's college-bound young tells us that higher
education in Maine is not a good deal compared to higher education
elsewhere. To reverse this trend, we must substantially lower our
tuition from being the fourth highest in the country and/or
substantially increase the quality of our higher education.
- Public-opinion surveys indicate some dissatisfaction with public
K-12 education, but general satisfaction with public higher education.
Evidently, public higher education in Maine is a good deal. Student
migration data, however, suggest that it is not a good enough deal
compared to other states to keep a high proportion of our
college-bound young here.
Click here to view the
entire report in htm format. (coming soon in
February, 2003)
To download a draft copy
of this report, click here. (Acrobat Reader, .pdf format,
279 KB) You must have Acrobat Reader loaded on your computer to download the
report. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, select the "Get
Acrobat Reader" button below and download the free software.
Please fill-out and submit the form below in order to
receive a copy of the final report (February, 2003).
Related News Articles
Study: More college-bound students head out of state.
Bangor Daily News;
Jan 20, 2003; by Ruth-Ellen Cohen
Students leaving state for college Study suggests better funding.
Kennebec
Journal & Morning Sentinel; Jan 21, 2003; The Associated Press
Maine lags in higher education. Bangor
Daily News; Feb 13, 2003; by Philip Trostel
Page last updated on February 19, 2003
For more information concerning this report or for
additional copies, please contact Chris Boynton at mcsc@umit.maine.edu.
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