Does it pay to be a college graduate?

What are the implications of the wage gap between college graduates and those with only a high school diploma?

Assistant Professor of Economics Eleanor Dillon found in her research that it pays off for students to "overmatch" by reaching for the best college they can. That's because a college degree can nearly double the prospective income for graduates. Dillon is looking deeper at that gap in her current research project with Gregory Veramendi, fellow assistant professor of economics. In an ASU Now article on Sept. 8, 2016:

She said one reason for the gap might be because of the skills learned in college, but another reason might be because college-goers already possess certain traits, such as higher cognitive skills, discipline, and self-organization. “So perhaps that creates a larger earnings gap not because those students went to college, but because they’re the kind of people who went to college,” she said.

Moreover, the U.S. wage gap between college graduates and those with only a high school diploma represents the country's economic and social cost of underutilized human potential.

Hear more from Dillon: W. P. Carey Research: The Increasing Education Gap from W. P. Carey School on Vimeo.