Despite the policy importance of lifelong learning, there is very little hard evidence from the UK on (a) who undertakes lifelong learning and why, and (b) the economic benefits of lifelong learning. This paper uses a rich longitudinal panel data set to look at key factors that determine whether someone undertakes lifelong learning and then models the effect of the different qualifications acquired via lifelong learning on individuals' economic outcomes, namely wages and the likelihood of being employed. Those who left school with O-level qualifications or above were much more likely to undertake lifelong learning. Undertaking one episode of lifelong learning also increased the probability of undertaking more lifelong learning. We found little evidence of positive wage effects from lifelong learning. However, males who left school with only low-level qualifications do earn substantially more if they undertake a degree via lifelong learning. We also found important positive employment effects from lifelong learning.

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Most countries seek to improve children's educational levels and standards. Commonly, this has taken the form of striving for greater educational attainment by able individuals from poor backgrounds. Britain has certainly experienced a substantial rise in education levels. For example, in 1960, just 12% of all British students stayed past compulsory school leaving age (15); this has since risen to 70%. In this study, we use two unique British panel datasets to test whether this rise in enrolment has been associated with an increased reliance on cognitive ability in determining educational achievement or whether parental income and other measures of socioeconomic status have become better predictors of school attainment. We find that early cognitive ability became a less important predictor of subsequent educational performance. This is partly because the average performance of low ability children increased during the time period.