The model for education has predominantly been pay-to-learn. Students, taxpayers, and/or donors bear the cost of education. This is even true of technical skills, for example, Microsoft charges you to get certified on their products.

Underemployment among college graduates is a rising issue in countries like the US, where a university has been perceived as a vehicle for economic mobility.

The optimists say, “some new need for labor always pops up” (as it did in manufacturing between 1920 and, say, 1970). But (a) you can’t see much sign of that in the tech-based industries that are on the rise – they’re just not labor-intensive – and (b) the workers that technological industries require are generally better educated than those cut ad... See more