Benefits of Education #2 - Social Prosperity

The more educated a society’s workforce, the more social prosperity gained by everyone. From the a summary provided by Michael Jones II at NASFAA on the Council on Graduate Schools’ Advisory Committee on Graduate Education and the Public Good:

Although it is perceived that people who receive PhDs pursue academic careers, ‘the reality is that in 2000, over 70 percent of doctoral degree holders worked outside of academia,’ according to the report. A host of fields and professions-ranging from health and legal services to manufacturing and educational services outside of colleges and universities-demand highly educated people to fill the positions necessary to keep the economy moving forward.

Some specific public benefits include:

• Increased tax revenue
• Better public health
• Higher employment
• More engaged citizenry in the community

The full NASFAA article is available online.