The Literacy Cooperative makes the Economic Case for Literacy

As part of its mission to improve literacy across the spectrum in Cuyahoga County, The Literacy Cooperative is releasing a series of public education and advocacy briefs focused on addressing systemic and institutional barriers that impact secondary-school credential holders who have earned a high school diploma or GED but are not prepared for postsecondary education or workforce success and are therefore unemployed or underemployed. 

Issued October 26, 2011, the first of these briefs, titled The Economic Case for Literacy, paints a clear picture of the economic incentives for Cuyahoga County to address barriers to academic success, in particular, postsecondary success – from higher employability and significantly higher lifetime individual earnings to increased tax revenues and decreased public costs.

“Even one year of post secondary education leads… to increases of 4 to 7% in per capita output [for businesses]," states The Economic Case for Literacy.  “[Furthermore] the earnings gap between high school diploma holders [and those with a higher level of education]… is now estimated to be as wide as 84%.”

According to The Literacy Cooperative’s research, the 270,000 Cuyahoga County adults (ages 25-64) that have a high school diploma but no post secondary credentials can improve their economic prospects as well as positively impact Northeast Ohio’s economy by obtaining a post secondary certificate or credential.  Further, The Literacy Cooperative’s research suggests that achieving success does not necessarily require a substantial increased investment.

“Reevaluating and possibly redirecting current available resources could prove quite effective,” states The Economic Case for Literacy. 

Read the full text of The Economic Case for Literacy here: http://www.literacycooperative.com/documents/tLC11_economicCaseWP_fR_SnglePg.pdf