Investigating Returns to Investments in Education: An Empirical Study Estimating Returns to Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Education for Countries at Different Levels of Economic Development

Studies on returns to education disagree as to where these returns are highest. It is suggested that these disagreements are the result of inconsistencies in the data and methodologies used for their estimation. These disagreements specifically refer to where in education governments should invest in order to obtain the highest returns, based on the specific characteristics of their countries (i.e. level of economic development). The purpose of this dissertation is to estimate and determine whether returns to investments in education vary for groups of countries with different levels of economic development.

Rates of return to investments in education were estimated through improvements in methodology and data comparability. Subsequently, the differences among these returns and their significance were observed. This study provides evidence to suggest where in education countries should invest based on their specific level of economic development in order to obtain the highest returns to these investments.