This monograph is a survey of recent literature on the economic returns on investment in education. The first section introduces the reader to the concept of human capital and to some ways it can be measured. In the second and third sections, data are presented on the relationship between education and income and the benefits accruing both to individuals and to the nation as a whole from investment in education. Section four deals with estimates of education's contribution to economic growth. Section five summarizes the generalizations concerning education as an investment. These studies reinforce the conclusion presented by other studies that the social returns on educational investment are very profitable, as are private returns on individual investment. A 32-item bibliography is included. (TC)