The Data Show the Case for College Is More Ambiguous than What the New York Times Tells You

David Leonhardt touts (but doesn't link to) new research from the Economic Policy Institute which shows the wage premium for recent college grads hit a record high in 2013. He then goes on to declare that it would be irrational for people not to go to college given this large pay premium. 

Leonhardt's analysis ignores the dispersion in pay among college grads, especially among men. Research by my colleague John Schmitt and Heather Boushey shows that near one in five recent male college g...