Credentialism
Discussion
Credentialism as a economically counterproductive Radical Monopoly
Kevin Carson:
"Another example of radical monopoly is credentialism, with mandated years of schooling unrelated to the practical requirements of an occupation. In order to transform one's labor into usevalue, one must forgo income during what would otherwise be prime earning years, and often take on enormous debt for tuition in vocational-technical school or professional training. This debt load, exacerbated by several years' lost income, is—once again—a form of overhead that must be amortized by a large revenue stream, which means greater dependence on wage labor for more hours of work.
According to Chris Dillow, the inflation of educational credentials required for the typical job has
had little effect on actual economic productivity:
- The thing is, this slowdown has come at a time when the workforce is better qualified than ever before; over 30% of the working age population has a degree now - twice the proportion in the mid-90s, and eight times that of the mid-70s. This vast increase in qualifications, however, seems to have had no impact in raising productivity...." (http://c4ss.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Political-Economy-of-Waste.pdf)
Source: The Political Economy of Waste.