Wonkbook: A popular college investment promised students a career, but didn't pay off

By Max Ehrenfreund Students who earned vocational certificates from for-profit colleges made an average of $900 less annually after attending the schools than they did before, according to a new study, leaving those who took out loans hard-pressed to pay them back. By contrast, demographically similar students who received the same certifications from public community colleges earned $1,500 more than they did before attending school. The …   The latest economic and domestic policy from Wonkblog   (Bigstock) By Max Ehrenfreund Students who earned vocational certificates from for-profit colleges made an average of $900 less annually after attending the schools than they did before, according to a new study, leaving those who took out loans hard-pressed to pay them back. By contrast, demographically similar students who received the same certifications from public community colleges earned $1,500 more than they did before attending school. The paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, published this week, offered new evidence for critics who say the for-profit college industry swindled students by pressuring them into racking up tens of thousands of dollars in debt while adding comparatively little value to their careers. Read the rest on Wonkblog.   Chart of the day The U.S. government has concocted some mightily inefficient ways of reducing cocaine consumption, such as spraying coca crops in Colombia with herbicide from the air. Christopher Ingraham has more. Top policy tweets "Read @JHWeissmann on what welfare reform really did https://t.co/bRqbDpyD9l" -- @ObsoleteDogma ".@portereduardo is right about the power of work https://t.co/t1AnduYs57" -- @WilcoxNMP "Great, wise, exasperating @sarahkliff on how much the health care system sucks up in time and attention of patients. https://t.co/2CZxw42lhi" -- @sangerkatz "My latest post: Fed is weakening much-needed credibility by tightening when inflation is so low https://t.co/W01F4PeOPS" -- @kocherlakota009 ADVERTISEMENT   Most Recent Posts from Wonkblog Why Americans are giving up citizenship in record numbers It has nothing to do with Donald Trump. By Ylan Q. Mui  •  Read more »   A popular college investment promised students a career, but didn’t pay off If you're thinking about getting a vocational certificate, you'll want to take a look at the data. By Max Ehrenfreund  •  Read more »   Taxpayers wasted billions of dollars on a war on cocaine that didn’t work, economists say "If the U.S. wants to reduce drug consumption, it is better off investing in treatment and prevention programs domestically," a study's authors conclude. By Christopher Ingraham  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Recommended for you   Federal Insider Federal news and policy update, in your inbox daily. Sign Up »         Share Wonkbook:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for a Wonkblog newsletter. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2016 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071