In the United States, the average earnings premium received by those with four-year college degrees over those with no college has gone from 30% to 90% over the past three decades, as the economy’s skill requirements have outstripped the educational system’s ability to meet them. Because the required skills acquired through formal education have become relatively scarcer, the education premium has risen, underpinning a more uneven distribution of income and wealth.
但是，就单个社会而言，我相信不平等的确构成一个严重的政治经济问题。在美国，过去三十年中，由于经济对技能的要求超过了教育体系满足它们的能力，因此，拥有四年大学学历的人的平均收入溢价与没有大学学历的人相比从30%上升到90%。由于通过正式教育获得的必要技能便得相对稀少，教育加付上升，进而加固了收入和财富的不均衡分配。