Quantitative Estimates of the Social Benefits of Learning, 1: Crime. Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report.

The cost benefits of lifelong learning in the United Kingdom were estimated, based on quantitative evidence. Between 1975-1996, 43 police force areas in England and Wales were studied to determine the effect of wages on crime. It was found that a 10 percent rise in the average pay of those on low pay reduces the overall area property crime rate by between 0.7 and 1.0 percentage points. The benefit was estimated to be between 1.3 and 1.8 billion British pounds per year. Furthermore, the effect on wages of a one point increase in the proportion of the working age area population with a high school diploma or equivalent qualification was predicted to lie between 10 million and 320 million pounds. It was found that cost benefit increases and crime decreases with more education. Parent background, health, and social cohesion were among key factors underlying the relationship between learning, achievement, and crime reduction. Future qualitative studies were recommended to determine more specifically the causal mechanisms and mediating processes that bear on the wider benefits of learning throughout an individual's life. (Seven tables/figures are included. The bibliography lists 53 references. Appended are tables on the relationship between education and training qualifications and wages and a classification of academic and vocational qualifications.) (AJ)