Education and new challenges - Raport Polska 2030

Education and new challenges
below 9% (7% in the OECD), for people with the lowest level of education 14% (10% in
the OECD). In the event of young people these disproportions are greater, especially
the risk of unemployment among people with the lowest educational status. The
respective indicators are 4.3%, 9.1% and 20.9%. 35
Also the greater the level of education, the higher the earnings. In most OECD
countries, the higher education bonus is greater than 50%. On average university
diploma holders earn 153% of the salary paid to people with a low level of education,
and the latter earn 78% of the salary paid to people with secondary education qualifications.
In Poland the higher education bonus was growing systematically since the
end of the 1990s until the downward trend starting 2006. On the one hand it resulted
from the saturation of labour market with university graduates, on the other hand
from still the low dynamics of the economic development which gave no chances
of using the potential of young people. Nevertheless, the university degree bonus is
still the highest one in Europe – it is 167% (second only to Portugal and Slovakia: 182
and 186%). In all countries women tend to have lower salaries than men, and this gap
is not bridged by higher education. In Poland this gap is also large. While the higher
education bonus for men is 188%, for women it is much lower – 161%; respective
data for the OECD – 158% and 154%. The level of income inequalities is visible in
particular in the case of young workers – annual income of women with university
degree (aged 35-44) hovers on average about 66% of the income earned by men
(OECD average: 71%). In the group of older workers (aged 55-64) this difference is
smaller – 73% (OECD average: 71%). 36
The expenses on education bring profits not only to individuals, but to the
entire society by way of higher income, higher income taxes, social security contributions
and other transfers. With some exceptions, public return on educational
investments is always positive and amounts to – at the level of secondary education
qualifications – USD 30 000 for men. In some countries (Austria, Denmark, Germany,
Portugal and Great Britain) it is even higher – USD 50 000. The return on women’s
education is minimally (USD 7000) lower. The public return on the costs of higher
education is even higher, as this level of education the share of private expenditures
is greater. On average the public profits from investments in higher education in the
OECD is USD 86 000, and it is three times higher than the relevant costs. Poland is
slightly below the OECD average – with the returnability of USD 95 867 (four times
more than the expenditures).
The level of education is positively related to health condition – the higher,
the greater the percentage of people declaring good health condition. This trend is
universal, but to a greater extent it is a specific feature of the post-communist countries.
In Poland 80% of people with university degree, and 62% of people with secondary
education qualifications, while only half of the population with below-secondary
education qualifications, have a positive opinion about their health. People
who complain about their health are less effective at work (tend to take sick leave
more often, are less efficient), more often use medical services. For this reason they
frequently present greater burden for public expenses than better educated people.
35 OECD, Education at a Glance. Indicators, 2010, p. 117.
36 Op. cit., p. 127-133.
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