The private and fiscal returns to schooling in the European Union

El pdf del artículo es el documento de trabajo publicado con el titulo The private and fiscal returns to schooling and the effect of public policies on private incentives to invest in education: a general framework and some results for the EU.We present estimates of the private and fiscal returns to schooling in 14 European Union countries. Estimates of the private returns to post-compulsory formal education take into account the effects of schooling on wages and employment probabilities and allow for academic failure rates, the direct and opportunity costs of education, and the impact of personal taxes, social security contributions, and unemployment and pension benefits on lifetime earnings. Estimates of fiscal returns capture the long-term effects of a marginal increase in average educational attainment on public finances under conditions that approximate general equilibrium. (JEL: I20, J31, H60).This paper is part of a research project financed by the European Fund for Regional Development and Fundación Caixa Galicia. Additional financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science through project SEJ 2005-06357 is also gratefully acknowledged.Peer reviewe