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Effect of Education on Economy

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How Education And Training Affect The Economy
February 25 2012| Filed Under » Economics, Post-Secondary Education, Young Investors
Why do most workers with college degrees earn so much more than those without? How does a nation's education system relate to its economic performance? Knowing how education and training interact with the economy can help you better understand why some workers, businesses and economies flourish, while others falter.

See: Keeping Up With Your Continuing Education

As the labor supply increases, more pressure is placed on the wage rate. If the demand for labor by employers does not keep up with the supply of labor, then the wage rate will be depressed. This is particularly harmful for employees working …show more content…

However, unions may also negotiate with employers to ensure that its members are better trained and thus more productive, which reduces the likelihood of jobs being shifted overseas.

For Workers
Workers increase their earning potential by developing and refining their capabilities. The more they know about a particular job's function or the more they understand a particular industry, the more valuable they will become to an employer. Employees want to learn advanced techniques or new skills in order to vie for a higher wage. Usually, workers can expect their wages to increase at a smaller percentage than the productivity gains by employers. The worker must consider a number of factors when deciding whether to enter a training program: * How much extra productivity would he or she expect to gain? * What is the cost of the training program? Will the worker see a wage increase that would warrant the cost of the program? * What is the labor market like for a better-trained professional? Is the market significantly saturated with trained labor already?
Some employers pay for all or a portion of the expense of a program, but this is not always the case. In fact, the worker may lose wages if the program prevents him or her from working.

For the Economy
Many countries have placed greater emphasis on developing an education system that can produce workers able to function in new industries, such as those in the fields of technology and science. This is

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