Education is possibly not the key factor to good income

On the basis of Professor Jesse Rothstein's research paper, American journalist Rachel M. Cohen has posted an interesting article in The Atlantic with argument that "Education Isn't the Key to a Good Income". Her article is based on the American society, which is pretty much recognized for its meritocracy culture.

Rachel's article has brought me to Jesse's earlier write-up posted in Washington Center for Equitable Growth website titled "There is more to equal access to a good education than sound school budgets" containing more insight about her research and findings.

So, are you having an equal chance to climb up the economic ladder with enough education and hard work? If this is not the case for America, what about the other parts of the world?

If education is not the key determinant of equitable economic opportunities across generations, what will be the more likely factor that can contribute to better income? Take a look in the diagram below.

 

Researcher opined that in this subject matter, the structure of the labour market is more likely to be a much bigger driver that the school quality.

It seems that the key determinant for labour income is the supply-demand factor of the skills matching with the market. Non-labour income and spousal earnings indeed play a significant part as the determinant too.