Student loan crisis? The economic value of higher education

Student loan debt is high and growing, but is this a crisis? At a recent Economic Club of Phoenix luncheon, W. P. Carey Dean Amy Hillman and economist Lee McPheters examined the cost and the return of higher education, both for individuals and society. McPheters says, “If you want to be paid more, you need to make yourself worth more.” Hillman points out that in addition to the personal consequences, society pays when young people do not pursue a higher education.

Student loan debt is high and growing, but is this a crisis? At a recent Economic Club of Phoenix luncheon, W. P. Carey Dean Amy Hillman and economist Lee McPheters examined the cost and the return of higher education, both for individuals and society. To students McPheters says, “If you want to be paid more, you need to make yourself worth more.” Hillman points out that in addition to the personal consequences, society pays a big price when young people do not pursue a higher education.

Part One: Amy Hillman, dean of the W. P. Carey School of Business, unpacks the student debt issue in a speech on March 19, 2013 at the Economic Club of Phoenix. The Atlantic: “The Myth of the Student-Loan Crisis”

Part Two:Economist Lee McPheters of the W. P. Carey School of Business, linked education attainment to lifetime earnings in a speech at the Economic Club of Phoenix on March 19, 2013. Lee McPheters' Slides. [podcast]