Last week, MIT News published a Q&A with MIT economics professor David Autor about inequality among the “99 percent.” This week, the conversation continues with discussion about the cost, and value, of a college education. According to this article in The New York Times:

The decision not to attend college for fear that it’s a bad deal is among the most economically irrational decisions anybody could make in 2014.

The much-discussed cost of college doesn’t change this fact. According to a paper by Mr. Autor published Thursday in the journal Science, the true cost of a college degree is about negative $500,000. That’s right: Over the long run, college is cheaper than free. Not going to college will cost you about half a million dollars. Read the entire story at The New York Times.

You can read Prof. Autor’s recent Science paper here, or see courses he has taught at MIT (that are now available as opencourseware) on our previous post.