> Are more jobs requiring college degrees because they are the most efficient way to increase productivity? Or is it because they are an easy filter, and more people have college degrees?
I think it's both. And as long as a college education is a net gain for the national labour market, it's in the national interest to support more of its population getting a college education. I mean, there are plenty of countries who has this as the entire rationale for their tuition-free universities where every single student gets a stipend regardless of what they study.
These countries usually rank pretty high in global competitiveness, which is some sort of measure of how far up the global value chain a country has moved, so there's at least a bunch of indicators that it's a pretty good rationale, that it's a pretty good idea to have an educated workforce.
I think it's both. And as long as a college education is a net gain for the national labour market, it's in the national interest to support more of its population getting a college education. I mean, there are plenty of countries who has this as the entire rationale for their tuition-free universities where every single student gets a stipend regardless of what they study.
These countries usually rank pretty high in global competitiveness, which is some sort of measure of how far up the global value chain a country has moved, so there's at least a bunch of indicators that it's a pretty good rationale, that it's a pretty good idea to have an educated workforce.