TORONTO - Getting a university degree offers substantial financial returns; for women more so than men and for undergraduate degrees more so than advanced degrees, according to a study released by the C.D. Howe Institute. In Extra Earning Power: The Financial Returns to University Education in Canada, authors Karim Moussaly-Sergieh and François Vaillancourt report that high returns to education signal high labour demand in particular fields relative to supply, information which is helpful for policymakers who distribute funds and for students who must choose their specialty.

By investing in an undergraduate degree, male students will see an annual after-tax return of 12 cents per dollar and female students 14 cents per dollar - well above the returns for other forms of investment. Such strong social and individual returns from the pursuit of university education should figure prominently in policymaking, and in student choices. For the e-brief, click: http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/ebrief_79.pdf