Catherwood LibraryILR School

In a report released yesterday, the U.S. Census Bureau found that between 1975 and 1999 education levels have exerted an ever-growing influence on income differentials---one which has probably continued during the recent economic decline, as downturns usually have a greater negative impact on workers with lower levels of education. As a result of these increasing returns on education, the average lifetime earnings of high school graduates are now twenty-percent greater than those of individuals who never graduate high school, the earnings of college graduates 110 percent greater, and the earnings of individuals with doctoral and professional degrees 240 percent and 340 percent greater, respectively. The census data also shows that while the benefits of education are as significant for minorities as they are for Caucasian workers, the effect of education on women?s income levels is not as large as its effect on men?s incomes, and overall earnings gaps linked to race and gender have not narrowed appreciably at most educational levels.