Average is over: Confusing cause and effect?

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Following up my previous post on Cowen's book, I can report that far from questioning the conventional wisdom on the importance of pushing as many people into college as possible, Cowen appears to support it.

He notes that some wealthy parts of the country, such as Raleigh, San Francisco, and Stamford, have a high percentage of college graduates and are getting an influx of more of the same. He also recommends more education as an antidote to struggling areas' economic ailments. But if Detroit starts subsidizing college education for many more Detroit residents, what I would expect to see is:

1) The more ambitious beneficiaries of this program moving to Raleigh, San Francisco, and Stamford.

2) And the less ambitious beneficiaries stuck in Detroit with a few job prospects.

How this would help Detroit is beyond me.

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