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Welcome to Crash Course Economics, I'm Adriene Hill.
欢迎收看经济速成班，我是埃德因·希尔。
And I'm Jacob Clifford. Some of you might be watching this video in school right now,
我是雅各布·克利福德。你们中有些人可能正在学校里看这个视频，
but even if you're not, you've probably spent a good chunk of your life getting educated.
但即使没有，你可能也花了很多时间来接受教育。
Nearly all countries require at least some mandatory schooling
几乎所有国家都要求至少实施一些义务教育，
and most of those countries provide that education for free.
而且大多数国家都提供免费教育。
But nothing is ever actually free. There's always an opportunity cost.
但是没有什么是真正免费的，它总有机会成本。
The money and resources that go into education might be used to fund other social programs or bring down the debt.
投入教育的资金和资源可用于资助其他社会项目或降低债务。
And if you go to college, the cost is not just the tuition and books,
如果你去上大学，成本不仅仅是学费和书本费，
it's also the income you could have earned by going straight into the workforce.
还包括你本可能直接进入职场获得的收入。
But is college even worth it? Well, let's look at the economics of education.
但上大学值这些成本吗？接下来，让我们来看看教育经济学。
Why do governments spend billions funding universal public education?
政府为什么要花费数十亿资金资助普及公共教育？
Why not just let profit-seeking businesses handle it?
为什么不让营利性企业来处理呢？
Many argue that if education was entirely privatized, it's likely that some children would be excluded,
许多人认为，如果教育完全私有化，有些孩子可能会被排除在外，
and that would make society, as a whole, worse off.
这将导致社会整体每况愈下。
Education is a positive externality.
教育是一种正外部性。
Education benefits individuals by helping them get a job and earn more income,
教育通过帮助个人找工作、挣更多的钱来使他们受益，
but it also benefits society as these individuals create art, invent cool stuff,
但它也有益于社会，因为这些人创造艺术、发明有趣的事物、
cure diseases, and make interesting conversation at parties.
治疗疾病、在党派间进行有趣的交谈。
More education increases productivity, GDP, and standards of living.
更多的教育能提高生产力、GDP和生活水平。
So, today we're going to look at the education system in the United States.
所以，今天我们来看看美国的教育系统。
We're talking about the US not only because we make Crash Course in the US,
我们谈论美国不仅仅是因为我们在这里做速成课程，
but because education in this country is going through a lot of changes.
还因为这个国家的教育经历了很多变化。
This way, we get to talk about things like education standards, vouchers and student debt.
我们可以讨论它的教育标准、教育券和学生债务等问题。
Now, to be sure, there are places that do things differently.
可以肯定，美国的教育有一些不同的地方。
For example, in the European Union, college costs a lot less than it does in the US, or is even free.
例如，欧盟的大学学费要比美国低很多，甚至免费。
In America, the government pays for primary and secondary public education and heavily subsidizes college.
在美国，政府为中小学教育买单，并对大学给予高额补贴。
In 2015, the federal and state governments will spend about 634 billion dollars on primary and secondary education.
2015年，联邦政府和州政府将花费大约6340亿美元用于中小学教育。
That's an average of about 12,500 dollars per student each year. Which is a lot of money.
每个学生每年平均分到1.25万美元。好多钱啊。
And despite all that spending, the US has some serious problems with its education system.
尽管花费巨大，但美国的教育体系仍存在一些严重问题。
One of the biggest is inequality.
最大的问题之一是教育不平等。
Students from low-income families tend to have lower math and reading test scores than those from higher income families.
来自低收入家庭的学生他们的数学和阅读测试分数往往比来自高收入家庭的学生低。
African American, Latino, and Native American students
非裔美国人、拉丁美洲人与美国原住民
are much more likely to drop out of high school than their White or Asian counterparts.
与白人或亚洲同龄人相比，高中辍学的可能性更大。
For some economists, the best way to level the playing field is to focus on funding.
对于一些经济学家来说，创造公平竞争环境的最好方法是把重点放在资金上。
They argue that the government should pay for early education programs,
他们认为政府应该为早期教育项目买单，
and provide extra funding for disadvantaged and low-income students.
并为弱势群体和低收入学生提供额外资金。
For others, the answer isn't just about more funding, it's about having more competition.
对于其他人来说，答案不仅仅是更多的资金，还有更多的竞争。
Some economists support charter schools and voucher programs that allow parents to pick schools,
一些经济学家支持特许学校和券计划，它们允许家长选择学校，
or open enrollment among or within school districts.
或者在学校间或校内开放招生。
Now in theory, this forces all schools to improve, or face losing their funding.
从理论上讲，这将迫使所有学校进行改善，否则它们将面临失去资金的窘境。
Other economists focus on the teachers, and argue that they should be incentivized to improve student performance.
其他经济学家关注的是教师，他们认为应该激励教师提高学生的表现。
Each of these ideas have been implemented in the US, with varying success.
这些想法都在美国得到了实施，并取得了不同程度的成功。
We have yet to find the magic formula,
我们还没有找到特别棒的解决方案，
but it's clear that the first step to improving equality is to invest in primary and secondary education.
但很明显，加强平等的第一步是投资中小学教育。
Now, what about higher education? Is that a good investment?
那么高等教育呢？它适合投资吗？
Well, keep in mind that there are many reasons,
记住，上大学接受普通教育有很多原因，
not all of them economic, to go to college, and to be educated in general.
不只是经济原因。
People go to college because they enjoy learning and want to know more.
人们上大学是因为他们喜欢学习，想知道更多知识。
Or maybe they want to put off getting a real job.
或者他们想推迟真正工作的时间。
But in economics, we focus on the financial benefits. Is college worth it?
但在经济学领域，我们关注的是经济效益，大学值得投资吗？
The fact is, college graduates, on average, earn more.
事实上，大学毕业生的平均收入更高。
Economists call this the "College Wage Premium."
经济学家称之为“大学生工资溢价”。
Among 25-32 year-olds, college grads earn an average of 45,000 dollars vs 28,000 dollars for those who only have a high school diplomas.
在25至32岁的人群中，大学毕业生的平均收入为4.5万美元，而高中毕业生的平均收入仅为2.8万美元。
Also, the unemployment rate for college grads is pretty much always lower.
而且大学毕业生的失业率也一直较低。
Right now, for people over 25 with a college degree, unemployment is around 3%,
现在，25岁以上的人群中，大学毕业生的失业率在3%左右，
vs. around 5.4 percent for those with only a high-school diploma.
而高中毕业生的失业率大约是5.4%。
And it's 8.6 percent if you didn't finish high school.
如果你没有完成高中学业，失业率是8.6%。
So bam, college pays off, case closed.
所以，上大学还是有回报的，问题解决了。
Well, not quite. The people who graduate from college are NOT a randomly selected group.
不，还没有解决。大学毕业生不是随机挑选的人群。
First, it takes a modicum of intelligence and dedication to even get into college.
首先，进入大学需要一点儿智力和投入。
Second, you have to receive a fairly good primary and secondary education to be able to keep up with college work.
其次，你必须接受良好的初等和中等教育才能跟得上大学的学业。
Third, the students who attend college are more likely to come from well-off families
第三，上大学的学生更有可能来自富裕家庭，
with educated parents who have the time and energy to help encourage their success.
他们受过教育的父母有时间和精力来帮助鼓励他们成功。
So when you compare college grads to those with less education,
所以当你将大学毕业生与受教育程度较低的人进行比较时，
you're often comparing people from advantaged backgrounds to people without many of those advantages.
经常会把有得天独厚背景的人与没有这些优势的人放到一起。
The fact that college graduates make more money isn't just about college.
事实上，大学毕业生挣钱更多不仅仅与大学有关。
It's also about life circumstances. Let's go to the Thought Bubble.
它还与生活环境有关。我们去看“Thought Bubble”。
Economists point out two main explanations for why college graduates earn more.
经济学家指明，大学毕业生挣得更多有两个主要原因。
The first is the "Human Capital" theory.
其一是“人力资本”理论。
The idea is that going to college actually teaches you skills that'll help you get a higher income job.
这个观点是，上大学实际会教给你一些技能，帮助你获得更高的收入。
The second theory is called "Signalling."
其二是“信号传递”理论。
The idea that some students have shown they are smart and hard-working, but in a job interview,
这一观点是指，一些学生表现出了他们的聪明和勤奋，但是在工作面试中，
EVERYONE is going to claim "Sure, I'm smart and hard-working!" even applicants who aren't.
即使应聘者没有这些品质，但每个人都会说“当然，我聪明又勤奋！”
So the talented applicants need something else to validate their abilities that can't be faked by others.
因此，那些有才华的应聘者需要一些其他东西来证实他们的能力，而这些能力是其他人伪造不了的。
A college degree sends a clear signal.
大学学位发出了一个清晰的信号。
"Look at me! I graduated Summa, and I've got the notarized transcripts to prove it!"
“看看我！我写了毕业论文，有公证的成绩单来证明。”
Many employers would prefer an applicant that has an actual Harvard degree over one that has an equivalent self-taught education.
许多雇主更倾向于一位拥有真正哈佛学位的申请人，而不是一个拥有同等自学能力的人。
But a college degree isn't only about signaling ability,
但是大学学位不仅仅传递着能力的信号，
we could accomplish that with a test that would take one day and 100 dollars,
这种能力我们花费一天用100美元的一个测试就能证明，
rather than 4 years and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars.
而不需要花费四年时间以及可能数十万美元的费用。
College degrees send other signals about socio-economic status and background.
大学学位还会传递其他关于社会经济地位和背景的信号。
BOTH the human capital theory and the signalling theory are compatible with the data:
人力资本理论和“信号传递”理论都与数据相符：
both predict that college graduates would earn more, which is what we see.
这两个理论都预言大学毕业生将赚得更多，结果就是我们所见。
But economists have tried to figure out which theory is correct.
但经济学家们试图弄清楚哪种理论正确。
They have compared the earnings of people who have earned 7 semesters worth of college credits but didn't graduate,
他们比较了那些获得7个学期大学学分但没有毕业的人
to people who finished and got a degree.
以及那些完成学业并获得学位的人的收入。
Both groups received about the same amount of education,
两组受试者的受教育程度相同，
so if the Human Capital theory is correct, they should earn about the same amount of money.
因此，如果人力资本理论正确，那么他们应该赚到同样多的钱。
If the Signalling theory is correct, those with degrees should earn noticeably more, and they do.
如果信号传递理论正确，那么有学位的人应该明显挣得更多，事实也如此。
But it's a smaller gap than you would find from just comparing high school and college grads.
但你会发现，与高中生和大学毕业生之间的差距相比，这一差距要小得多。
It seems that both theories apply.
这两种理论似乎都适用。
Thanks Thought Bubble.
感谢“Thought Bubble”。
Okay, so we know that there are significant financial benefits to completing college.
好了，我们知道了完成大学学业有明显的经济效益。
But what about the costs? Going to college can be really expensive.
但它的成本呢？上大学可能真得代价巨大。
Often more than most families can afford.
只有少数家庭能负担得起。
In the US, students have over 1 trillion dollars of debt.
在美国，学生有超过一万亿美元的债务。
That's more than Americans owe on their cars or their credit cards!
这比美国人的汽车或信用卡债务还多。
More students are attending college than ever,
开始上大学的学生越来越多，
and more of those students are paying for at least part of their education with loans.
用贷款支付部分教育费用的学生也在增多。
In 2012, almost 70 percent of students took out loans to pay for tuition,
2012年，近70%的学生用贷款支付学费，
and the median amount they borrowed was around 27,000 dollars.
他们的借款中值约为2.7万美元。
By comparison, in 1993, the median amount students borrowed was around 12,500 dollars.
相比之下，在1993年，学生贷款的中值约为1.25万美元。
And that's just the median.
这还仅仅是中值。
So even if some of the hand-wringing over the total amount of student debt is overblown,
因此，即使对学生债务总额的一些担忧被夸大了，
the average student really is taking on a larger burden.
但普通学生确实正承担着更大的负担。
So, this is all thanks to higher tuition, right? Well, not exactly.
这都要归功于更高的学费，对吧？嗯，不完全是。
At four-year public universities, the average cost of tuition, room and board
四年制公立大学的平均学费、食宿费
has gone from 10,600 dollars in 1994 to 18,900 dollars in 2014, when you adjust for inflation.
已经从1994年的1.06万美元上涨至2014年的1.89万美元，这是适应通胀的结果。
The average tuition at comparable private universities has risen from 26,500 dollars to 42,400 dollars during the same period.
同期私立大学的平均学费从2.65万美元涨到了4.24万美元。
But that rising tuition number is the "sticker price" for college,
但是学费上涨是大学的“标价”，
in fact, most students receive very substantial discounts.
事实上，大多数学生都能得到很大的折扣。
Students from wealthy families, with not-so-great SAT scores might pay that full sticker price,
来自富裕家庭、且SAT成绩不高的学生可能会支付全额学费，
but once you factor in cost reductions from scholarships, fellowships, grants and other sources,
但一旦将奖学金、助学金和其他资金来源的成本削减考虑进去的话，
many students pay substantially less.
许多学生的费用都会大大减少。
Once you adjust for discounting, the rise in net tuition has been kind of modest.
一旦你调整了折扣，净学费的增长就差不多适度了。
So, why all the debt? Well, for-profit colleges and universities might be contributing to this.
那么为什么会有那些债务呢？这可能是盈利性大学导致的。
Students at these schools tend to take on more debt than students at public schools or private non-profits.
这些学校的学生往往比公立学校或非盈利私立学校的学生背负更多的债务。
It's also possible that student debt is rising because graduate school enrollment is up.
研究生入学人数增加，可能也会导致学生债务上升。
And grad students borrow more than undergrads.
因为研究生的贷款比本科生多。
Another reason tuitions are increasing is because the actual cost of running a college is higher than a few decades ago.
学费上涨的另一个原因是上大学的实际成本比几十年前要高。
As some schools compete for students and their money,
一些学校会为了学生和他们的钱而竞争，
some of them build luxurious dorms, climbing walls and gourmet dining to attract revenue.
有些学校会建造豪华宿舍、攀岩墙和美食餐厅来吸引收入。
Another possibility is that colleges now employ more administrators and pay them a whole bunch of money.
另一种可能性是，大学现在雇佣更多的管理人员，并付给他们一大笔钱。
So, in cold, hard, merciless dollars, does it make sense to spend or borrow a bunch of money on a college degree?
所以，在冷酷无情的金钱世界中，花或借一大笔钱在大学学位上有意义吗？
Well, it depends a lot on the degree you get, but on average the answer is, yes, as long as you finish!
这在很大程度上取决于你获得的学位，但平均而言，答案是，是的，有意义，只要你能完成学业！
Many of the worst student-debt horror stories
许多最糟糕的学生债务恐怖故事
involve students who racked up large debt, but were unable to finish college.
都涉及那些债台高筑却无法完成大学学业的学生。
And that's surprisingly common:
这是很常见的：
Every year in the US, 60% of high-school graduates enroll in college,
在美国，每年有60%的高中毕业生进入大学，
but only a little over half actually graduate within 6 years. That's right: only half.
但只有略多于一半的学生能在6年内毕业。是的，只有一半。
But what about students that don't have the means or the inclination to go to a four-year university?
但是那些没有办法或意愿上四年制大学的学生怎么办呢？
Are they doomed to live in squalor?
他们注定生活悲惨吗？
Well, no, but again better money can be found in careers that require specific training and skills,
不是的，再说一次，需要特殊培训和技能的职业赚钱更多，
which can be learned through a community college or through an apprenticeship.
而这些技能可以通过社区大学或学徒身份来学习。
The average car mechanic earns 40,000 dollars a year;
汽车修理工每年平均能挣4万美元；
the average plumber earns 50,000 dollars;
水管工的平均收入是5万美元；
and the average electrician 55,000 dollars.
电工的平均收入是5.5万美元。
And as more young people opt to go to college and as older people in these careers retire,
随着越来越多的年轻人选择上大学，年纪较大的人退休，
most economists expect these wages to rise.
大多数经济学家预计这些职业的工资会上涨。
So what is the final conclusion? Is college even worth it?
那么最后的结论是什么呢？上大学值得吗？
Well, I guess in the end, we have to say, it depends.
好吧，我想最后，我们不得不说这要看情况。
It depends on where you go to school; how much you pay for your degree;
这取决于你去哪里上学；你为学位花多少钱买单；
and it depends on what degree you get.
以及你获得什么学位。
And, of course, on what you want to do with your life.
当然，它还取决于你想要的生活。
Education isn't just another thing that you buy.
教育不是你买的另一件产品。
It isn't only about individual gain. There's a social aspect, too.
它不仅仅关乎个人利益，还有社会方面的利益。
We want everyone to have access to quality education
我们希望每个人都能接受高质量的教育，
because having an educated populace benefits all of us.
因为受过良好教育的人会使我们所有人受益。
Education can also be a powerful tool when it comes to reducing poverty and addressing income inequality,
在减少贫困和解决收入不平等的问题上，教育也是一个强有力的工具，
and we're gonna talk about that next time. Thanks for watching!
这个我们将在下期讨论。感谢您的收看！
Thanks for watching Crash Course Economics.
感谢您收看经济速成班！
It was made with the help of all these nice people.
它是由这些好心人帮助制作的。
You can help keep Crash Course free, for everyone forever by supporting the show at Patreon.
如果你想帮助速成班永远免费对所有人开放，可以在Patreon上支持我们的节目。
Patreon is a voluntary subscription service
Patreon是个自愿订阅服务的平台，
where you can support the show with a monthly contribution.
你可以每月捐助来支持我们的节目。
Thanks for watching! DFTBA.
感谢您的收看，别忘了做个了不起的人。
