Literature Review of Higher Education as an Investment for Economic Growth and Poverty Eradication

America used to thrive on its education system and that is why it became one of the greatest nations in the world. Education is the backbone of our country, and we must give high priority to improve its current condition. Unfortunately, in the past couple of decades, the education system has been regressing. It has been on the decline and not as effective. The quality of education in a country has an influence on GDP growth, social cohesion and social well being in general. In order to improve the quality of education in the U.S., the following must be taken into consideration: the structure of our education system must be reanalyzed, we must compare and contrast our education system to systems of other countries with higher rankings, and finally, there must be a solution.

“By 2020, 65 percent of the jobs in the United States will require at least one post-secondary education Community colleges serve close to half of all American students, enrolling 10 million students each year, but just under 20 percent earn an associate’s degree within three years.”(Georgetown recovery: job growth and education requirements through 2020) In contrast to the 20th century, a high school diploma was sufficed enough to fulfill

The strongest claim the author made was that the economy and education are highly intertwined. It is stated that without a public access to a higher level of education, the income equality will grow larger and our country of democracy and prosperity will be in jeopardy. The

The public school system of America is the driving force of the nation’s job market. There is a direct correlation between the nation’s job market and the nation’s economic opulence. Despite education being at an all-time high for tax dollars spent, the heightened accessibility of schools across the country, and continuation of schooling after high school more than ever, the public school system of the United States continues to pump out insufficient workers to the work force. For almost two hundred years, the citizens of America have held a belief that going through the school system will be the necessary element to the life one wants to live in America. Over the years, schooling emitted a false hope that made job assurance possible. Fifty

In this paper I will explain the differences between two perceptions about education verses employment. First, I will examine “Are Too Many People Going to College?” written by Charles Murray which explores other avenues for employment without a formal education. Secondly, I will review Sanford Ungar’s work in “The New Liberal Arts”. He advocates a traditional Liberal Arts education as a necessity in life and a strong foundation for employment.

In his essay titled “Yes A College Education Is Worth the Costs,” published in USA Today, former president of Southern Virginia University and a law professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law Rodney K. Smith, raises his concern about people willing to invest in material things rather than their future. By using the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the unemployed population to show that the unemployment rate is caused by the absences of graduates to satisfy the jobs in demand, he tries to convince the reader of the importance of education. As a 2010 report by the BLS indicates compared to 14.9% unemployed people without a high school diploma, only 1.9% graduates with a doctoral degree are unemployed. In addition, the average weekly income of a high school degree holder is 1106 less than a doctoral degree holder (qtd in Smith).

Education in America is not as valued nationally as the current culture wants the societies of the world to think. There are occupations that are valued above educators, but our civilization wants to imply that our educational system is well advanced and tries to emphasize that we are a country of well-educated people. Unlike in Leonid Fridman’s “America Needs Its Nerds,” and Benjamin R. Barber’s “America Skips School”. Everywhere in this country we hear the government say how our schools are the future of this country, but if we listen carefully we will hear little in our civilization over education financially and how poverty mixes in with this issue.

Why haven’t more high school graduates gone on to a college educa¬tion when the benefits are so apparent? Why don’t more of those who go to college finish a four-year degree? (Only

Education is today more critical than ever. College has become virtually a precondition for upward mobility. Men with only a high school diploma earn about a fifth less than they did 35 years ago. The gap between the earnings of students with a college degree and those without one is bigger than ever.

In the article “Bring on the Elites!”, Joel Stein shares the widespread view that education is essential to future success. Based on this view, some perceive the population growth in America and resulting increase in the number of students attending public school as positive, since the benefits of education now extend to more people. However, this trend points to a pressing problem in the education system. Without funding for sufficient facilities or teachers to accommodate additional students, administrators repeatedly push schools past capacity to the detriment of both students and staff. In economic terms, there is excess demand in comparison to supply, resulting in disequilibrium for the consumers. The current system is turning education into a commodity meant for mass production.

On the other side, the economy of Texas and Florida lost 33,000 jobs in September 2017, unemployment rates also dropped down to 4.2%. Unemployment situation is increasing seriously in America. Finding a job is so hard, and recruitment company always required their employees who have bachelor or master degree, they also compete each other for getting a job. The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association reported a high school degree earned a median average of $300,000 per year; nevertheless, bachelor’s degrees and advanced degrees earned from $50,000 to $70,000 a year. Therefore, if we don’t have a good education, our dream will be compromised. Furthermore, preparing a good education is the best investment because it helps us live out American Dream that is called a success and finance. America is developed country so education is a necessary factor for growing economies. Otherwise, a good education is known as our honor and outward appearance that give us more confident to contact with many people. Evidently, person isn’t complete perfect if they don’t have education because it is not only a key to success but also a door to open our

Education is the foundation of a person’s success and way of life. Graduating from school is important not only for an individual, but it helps the local and national economy. A study by the Alliance for Excellent Education shows that with higher graduation rates among high school students, the economies of cities, states, and of the country would increase (Rollins). Compared to the rest of the world, the United States spends a large amount of money on education (U.S. Education). While many may think this sufficient, Professor Bruce Baker discusses the correlation between supporting schools with federal funding and the success of students, “When schools have more money, they have greater opportunity to spend productively. When they don’t, they can’t” (ii, Baker). If students are to graduate and contribute to the boost of economies, education must be the forefront of federal funding.

About century ago, the United States had the most educated workforce in the world, thanks to the movement that made high school free and available for everyone, but today many nations exceeded that level. According to “Education at a Glance” report of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, U.S. college graduation rates rank 19th out of 28 countries studied by the OECD, twenty years ago the United States was first among OECD member countries, since that time more countries focus on increasing the number of college graduates; therefore, U.S. falls behind the competition (Weston.) This clearly indicates that the United States’ tertiary education needs a serious initiative like Obama’s plan to push up the college graduation

Education is one of the most important assets a country can offer in terms of the future. Education is what drives technical advances and helps form the general structure of the country. As the United States’ monetary deficit grows, one may forget about the pending problems in education. These problems in education may led to the downfall of the once great global powerhouse the United States once was.

An Achieve, Inc. 2004 report, titled, Ready or Not: Creating a High School Diploma That Counts, stated that both employers and colleges were demanding more of high school graduates than in the past. According to Achieve, Inc. (2004), "current high-school exit expectations fall well short of [employer and college] demands." It was from this background