Education is mostly signaling
Main benefit of education is to let employers know who the good potential workers are. Success in school signals intelligence, work ethic, and conformity.
Evidence in favor of this view:
- School teaches subjects that aren't useful to employers and fails to teach many that are.
- "sheepskin effect" most of the gains from education only come after having the diploma
- What is more effective at getting a good job: Princeton education or a Princeton degree ? Not obvious as is: What is more effective at surviving alone in the woods: survival training or a survival training certificate ?
- Students don't retail what they are taught.
Follow-ups
- If education is mostly signaling, increasing everyones education has little or no benefit. ("arms race")
- "Eduction is a good way to get a job but a poor way to learn how to do a good job. If everyone had a college degree, the result would not be great jobs for all, but runaway credential inflation" - Bryan Caplan
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