Investing in Education Will Build a Stronger Maryland Economy

It's back-to-school time again. It's a good time to think about how education contributes to our economy and our quality of life.

The best way for Maryland to grow its economy is by continuing to invest in a well-educated workforce, according to a new paper published by EPI for the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN—a network of state local and national economic think tanks, including MBTPI).

In A Well Educated Workforce is Key to State Prosperity, Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, and Peter Fisher, research director at the Iowa Policy Project, find a strong link between the educational attainment of state workforces and both productivity and median wages. In Maryland, 41 percent of the workforce have college degrees; the US average is 33 percent. Maryland's average hourly earnings are $19.12, almost $3 above the national average.

Expanding access to high quality education will create more economic opportunity for Marylanders and do more to strengthen our overall economy than anything else state government could do.

 Some ways to increase the educational attainment of Maryland’s population include:

•  increasing funds for preschool programs and quality childcare,
•  restoring full inflation increases in the “Thornton” public school funding formula, an
•  keeping college affordable by holding down tuition growth, and increasing need-based financial aid.

Meanwhile, strategies such as cutting taxes to lure employers and capture private investments from other states are shortsighted, and promote a race to the bottom which undermines states’ ability to invest in and attract an educated workforce. The paper finds no clear relationship between a state’s tax rates and its wages.