Best columns: Lower ed, Flat happiness

“For decades, the typical college graduate’s wage rose well above inflation,” says Greg Ip in The Wall Street Journal, but no more. &ld

The diminishing returns on college

“For decades, the typical college graduate’s wage rose well above inflation,” says Greg Ip in The Wall Street Journal. No more. The typical weekly salary for a U.S. worker with a bachelor’s degree was flat last year, adjusted for inflation, and 1.7 percent lower than the 2001 level. That’s partly because there are more college-educated workers, but employers now are also looking for skills “more narrow, more abstract, and less easily learned in college,” thanks to globalization and technology advances. College-educated workers still earn 75 percent more than those with high school diplomas, but for strong wage growth—at least until recently—your best bet was the financial sector.

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