The total return to higher education is the rate of return based on earnings plus non-monetary private and social benefits beyond earnings that captures higher education's contribution to development.A theory of endogenous development offers a new scholarly contribution where firm and household...

This paper provides a conceptual framework for the articles that follow in this special issue of the Journal of Education Finance by exploring how the external social benefits of higher education contribute to higher sustainable rates of per capita development of families and nations. It...