Start from the baseline: the global average private return to one more year of education (the part that lands in your own income) is about 9% a year

Cost

Free. Remember the number and use it as a yardstick for every “learn something” plan.

What you get

A review covering 1950 to 2014, 139 countries and 1120 estimates found: “the global average private rate of return to one more year of schooling is 9% a year.” The private return is the part that lands in your own income: one more year of school raises income by about 9% on average. The private return to higher education is rising. The social return to education (the part that lands on society as a whole rather than on the individual) remains very high. The average return to women's education has consistently been higher than for men.

Notes

This is the global average for “one more year of schooling.” It cannot be treated as the payoff of “signing up for a class,” nor is it a figure for China; use it only as an order of magnitude. Its use is to give every training plan a yardstick: if a course costs 30,000 (3万) CNY and half a year, ask whether it can bring a change in income comparable to one year of formal education. Keep in mind that a global average hides huge differences between fields and between countries.

Evidence grade

A : Specific numbers from meta-analyses, large cohorts or randomized trials; for law and policy, the statute or official text.

Sources

1. Psacharopoulos G, Patrinos HA (2018). Returns to investment in education: a decennial review of the global literature. Education Economics, 26(5), 445-458. https://doi.org/10.1080/09645292.2018.1484426
2. 世界银行政策研究工作论文 8402. https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-8402

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 23, tip 7. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer