Like all bubbles the real estate bubble had a kernel of truth - real estate is a tangible asset that you could touch and potentially live in.
Those of us who feared that real estate was a bubble talked about the price-to-rent ratio, which allows us to value real estate in terms of the actual rental income it would bring.
It is possible to value college degrees with similar tools. The value of a degree is the net increase in lifetime income it brings. Every student who decides to spend her parents money (or his own future income) is making a bet that she will profit from this investment.
From John Robb comes this startling fact - the cost of a degree today is approximately equal to the increase in lifetime income - if true, a college degree provides no additional economic benefit after you factor in the cost of acquiring it.
As real estate shows, it is possible to overpay for anything - the tangibility of the asset does not prevent a mania from occurring.
So are we in an education bubble ? The graph certainly looks bubbly.











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