Higher Learning, Greater Good: The Private and Social Benefits of Higher Education
Walt McMahon'sHigher Learning, Greater Goodis an important book made even more so by the current economic crisis. This insightful volume derives from a lifetime of scholarly exploration and arrives at a time when a clear understanding of the economic benefits of higher education has never been more crucial. Through his analysis of the market and non-market returns on higher education, McMahon makes clear the chronic underinvestment in higher education and the serious ramifications for both individuals and society.Higher Learning, Greater Goodis a detailed and thoughtful contribution to education and policy debates that deserves a careful reading by all who care about the future.(Stanley O. Ikenberry, Professor and Former President, University of Illinois, and Former President of the American Council of Education)Higher Learning, Greater Goodis the first book to systematically identify and develop the evidence necessary to measure comprehensively the benefits of higher education and to estimate their economic value.(Rorotoko)The overwhelming success of this work is that McMahon has articulated clearly and succinctly what students, their families, and governments are getting for their investment in higher education.(Mary McKeown-MoakJournal of Education Finance)This is a significant contribution to both theory and research findings in the study of investment in higher education... Highly recommended.(Choice)A timely and insightful text... Academic advisors who want to show their students that a college degree offers benefits beyond starting salaries and career opportunities will find this book to be a valuable resource.(Jon KleinmanNACADA Journal)An important contribution that not only provides a diagnosis of the main problems facing US higher education but also offers some solutions.(Roger BrownTimes Higher Education Supplement)No one else before McMahon has systematically and comprehensively presented the whole picture of higher education benefits and provided a valuation of the private and social non-market benefits.(Shouping HuHigher Education)It is not surprising that there is a growing interest in the private and social benefits of higher education and discussion of who should pay for what. Professor McMahon’s book,Higher Learning, Greater Good: The Private and Social Benefits of Higher Educationis central to this debate.(Kjell RubensonAcademic Matters)McMahon has written a serious and important book on the economics of higher education... This book is a must read for students interested in the economics of higher education and should be included as a required reading in such courses... McMahon's extension and revitalization of human capital theory in higher education should be of interest to a general readership in the field.(Edward P. St. JohnJournal of Higher Education)This extraordinary book patiently, thoughtfully, and thoroughly provides the conceptual framework for understanding the higher education market, the empirical findings about what that market produces and the policy prescriptions needed to make it work better in the future.(David ShulenburgerReview of Higher Education)