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The majority of research on the outcomes of education has focused on the effect of educational attainment on individuals' wages and on the level of skill in the economy as a whole. In this article, however, Nevzer Stacey argues that examining the social benefits of education beyond its economic impact would provide a more comprehensive informational basis for developing national educational policies. She reviews the literature that examines the impact of educational attainment on four areas of potential intervention: health; family structure, fertility, and child care; the environment; and crime. Although these studies report some statistics on education, virtually none uses measures of learning or inputs related to the learning process to estimate the effect of education. Stacey concludes that a more systematic analysis is needed to improve our under-standing of the full effect of education on society in order to determine appropriate public policy.

Arguing that examining the social benefits of education beyond its economic impact would provide a more comprehensive informational basis for developing national educational policies, results are presented of a review of the literature investigating the impact of educational attainment on four areas of potential intervention: health; family structure, fertility, & child care; the environment; & crime. Although these studies report some statistics on education, virtually none uses measures of learning or inputs related to the learning process to estimate the effect of education. It is concluded that a more systematic analysis is needed to enhance understanding of the full effect of education on society &, thus, determine appropriate public policy. 35 References. Adapted from the source document.

For decades, the primary argument in justifying education has been based on its direct economic effects. Yet education also provides "social benefits" for individuals and society at large, including a better way of taking care of ourselves and consequently creating a better society to live in. Though difficult to quantify these social benefits, a more systematic analysis would improve our understanding of the full effects of education and provide a basis for considering related policies. To promote better understanding, the Office of Research of the United States Department of Education commissioned a series of papers on measuring these effects of education