July 21, 2015
Updated: HILDA: In defence of good research wherever it is found
The commentary on The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey: Selected Findings from Waves 1 to 12 by Roger Wilkins of the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at The University of Melbourne has been sidetracked by one plausible statistic, neglecting the full import of the Survey.
The Survey confirms the earning value from higher levels of education, particularly for women. It shows that for women having a higher education degree is important for the likelihood of employment. That is not so for men who tend to be employed but with lower earnings if not a graduate.
Those outcomes are not necessarily new but since they based on a cohort covering multiple generations they underpin the value from expanding the take up of higher education, a core mission of IRU members.
The new aspect coming from the survey is the hints that school results let alone intelligence are not long term strongly correlated with income. Rather it is the fact of education. Read more in the pdf below.