1 Introduction
Sweden is probably the country in the world where upper secondary education
for adults (henceforth AE) has the largest role to play in the educational sys-
tem. In 1999, around 300,000 individuals were enrolled in AE, making it simi-
lar in size to regular upper secondary school for 16-18 year olds. Arguments in
favour of this structure include that AE evens out educational differences be-
tween demographic groups and constitutes a tool to improve democracy and
social justice. AE also provides a second chance for late learners who would
otherwise run the risk of ending up in a pool of unused labour. Further, AE im-
proves the flexibility of the work force, offering general human capital im-
provements as an alternative (and/or complement) to job-search. However, de-
spite the considerable investments made in AE, little is known about its eco-
nomic benefits.
This report uses Swedish data to examine the effects on annual wage earn-
ings of upper secondary credits attained via AE. Also investigated is whether
individuals with and without AE prior to enrolment in higher studies differ in
their achievements in higher education and subsequent annual wage earnings.
The analyses are based on register data for the cohort born in 1970, of whom
more than one third were registered at some point in adult upper secondary
education.
The Swedish expansion of AE took off in 1969, when by law each munici-
pality was required to offer compulsory and upper secondary education to
adults. Municipal institutes called komvux became responsible for providing the
service, in most cases offering both daytime and evening courses. The number
enrolled was instantly in the region of 100,000 per year and this figure re-
mained relatively stable until the mid 1990’s when there was an extraordinary
expansion. This increase was largely a consequence of the economic recession
that hit the Swedish labour market a few years earlier. Figure 1 illustrates how
open unemployment more than quadrupled between 1990 and 1993. During
these years, the fraction of the labour force registered in active labour market
programs rose while there were only small changes in the participation rate at
IFAU - Does adult education at upper secondary level influence annual wage earnings?