Millions of school-leavers in the rich world are about to bid a tearful goodbye to their parents and start a new life at university. Some are inspired by a pure love of learning. But most also believe that spending three or four years at university—although accumulating huge debts in the process—will boost their chances of landing a well-paid and secure job. Their elders have always told them that education is the best way to equip themselves to thrive in a globalized world. Blue-collar workers will see their jobs offshored and automated, the familiar argument goes. School dropouts will have to cope with a life of cash-strapped insecurity. But the graduate elite will have the world at its feet. There is some evidence to support this view. A recent study from Georgetown University's Centre on Education and the Workforce argues that "obtaining a post-secondary credential(证书)is almost always worth it. " Educational qualifications are tightly correlated with earnings: an American with a professional degree can expect to pocket $ 3.6 million over a lifetime: one with merely a high-school diploma can expect only $1.3 million. The gap between more- and less-educated earners may be widening. A study in 2002 found that someone with a bachelor's degree could expect to earn 75% more over a lifetime than someone with only a high-school diploma. Today the premium is even higher. But is the past a reliable guide to the future? Or are we at the beginning of a new stage in the relationship between jobs and education? There are good reasons for thinking that old patterns are about to change—and that the current recession-driven downturn in the demand for Western graduates will evolve into something structural. The gale(一阵)of creative destruction that has shaken so many blue-collar workers over the past few decades is beginning to shake the cognitive(认知的)elite as well. The supply of university graduates is increasing rapidly. The Chronicle of Higher Education calculates that between 1990 and 2007 the number of students going to university increased by 22% in North America, 74% in Europe, 144% in Latin America and 203% in Asia. In 2007, 150 million people attended university around the world, including 70 million in Asia. Emerging economies are pouring resources into building universities that can compete with the elite of America and Europe. They are also producing professional-services firms such as Tata Consulting Services and Infosys that take fresh graduates and turn them into world-class computer programmers and consultants. The best and the brightest of the rich world must increasingly compete with the best and the brightest from poorer countries that are willing to work harder for less money.
单选题
Why do students go to universities even if carrying huge debts?