A new look at private rates of return to education in Switzerland

Shows the results of a new model for calculating private rates of return to education. The so‐called “cost‐benefit‐model” takes into account the influence of the existing wage structure, institutional factors as the cost of education and the fiscal system and risk premiums for dropping out of school as well as differences in unemployment. The model produces results that are relatively easy to interpret at the economic policy level and can easily be used to simulate the effects of changing parameters. The first empirical results for Switzerland indicate that once educational costs have been deducted, wage‐earning advantages for different educational groups are insignificant. The empirical results speak against the political demand – at least in Switzerland – that those who directly benefit from education should pay more towards its costs.