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Cited by 944Intergenerational and Educational Inequality StudiesLabor market dynamics and wage inequalitySchool Choice and Performance

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 118 of the 120 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Social and Economic Returns to College Education in the United States

Hout, Michael·2012·Annual Review of Sociology
DOI 10.1146/annurev.soc.012809.102503
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Abstract

Education correlates strongly with most important social and economic outcomes such as economic success, health, family stability, and social connections. Theories of stratification and selection created doubts about whether education actually caused good things to happen. Because schools and colleges select who continues and who does not, it was easy to imagine that education added little of substance. Evidence now tips the balance away from bias and selection and in favor of substance. Investments in education pay off for individuals in many ways. The size of the direct effect of education varies among individuals and demographic groups. Education affects individuals and groups who are less likely to pursue a college education more than traditional college students. A smaller literature on social returns to education indicates that communities, states, and nations also benefit from increased education of their populations; some estimates imply that the social returns exceed the private returns.

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Citations

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Show all 120 references

Research works printed but not linked: 18

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Metadata

Authors
Hout, M.
Affiliations
University of California, Berkeley (US)
Corresponding author
Hout, Michael
ORCID
Hout, Michael
Venue
Annual Review of Sociology
Publisher
Annual Reviews
Published
2012-08-11
Volume
38
Issue
1
Pages
379-400
ISSN
  • 0360-0572 (ISSN-L)
  • 1545-2115
DOI
10.1146/annurev.soc.012809.102503
OpenAlex
W2162075074
Cited by
943
References
120
Citations by year
2026: 49 · 2025: 81 · 2024: 72 · 2023: 90 · 2022: 69 · 2021: 102 · 2020: 53 · 2019: 87 · 2018: 95 · 2017: 70 · 2016: 62 · 2015: 60 · 2014: 28 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 6
FWCI
9.09
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Annual Review of Sociology (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • Berkeley Population Center, University of California Berkeley
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Labor market dynamics and wage inequality
  • Social Sciences › Education › School Choice and Performance
Keywords
returns to education, university education, social returns, economic returns, educational stratification, selection effects, education investment

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