“In all likelihood highly educated workers are the individuals who would earn high incomes even if they did not have as much education.” Evaluate

What will be an ideal response?

It is undoubtedly true that many highly educated workers have above-average abilities and motivation that would enable them to earn high incomes even without as much education. However, other things equal, evidence does point to the fact that the correlation between education and earnings is not entirely due to some other factor such as ability and motivation. Comparisons on a macro level demonstrate that societies with higher levels of education also have higher levels of productivity and living standards. Historically, our standard of living and productivity have risen with educational levels. On an individual level, anecdotal evidence suggests that education and training increase one’s skills and productivity and therefore, earning power. In other words, evidence seems to point to the fact that while intelligence and motivation may allow a person to earn above-average income without higher education, if that person also achieves a higher level of education, their earning power expands even further.