This article examines the economic effect of education in terms of its impact on the earnings of workers in an information technology (IT)-diffusing economy, based on data from Hong Kong's 2006 by-census and survey on the usage and penetration of IT in industries. Education enhances the productivity of workers and increases their lifetime incomes.…

The absence of major economic rewards for effort in high school, and peer pressure against studying hard, which results from the zero-sum nature of academic competition in high school, lead to student apathy. Only with a system of rewards within the schools and the labor market will this apathy be overcome. (BJV)

Traces the patterns of wage premiums for college graduates since 1963. Also examines the wage differentials between high school dropouts and graduates, and between college dropouts and graduates. The dramatic rise in the wage premium is due to the huge increase in the demand for college-trained workers. (Author/BJV)