people do not obtain a bachelor’s or master’s degree because they do not have the resources to make those choices

or because their incomes are too low and/or the price of these degrees is too high. A bachelor’s or a master’s degree

may not be available in their opportunity set.

The price of these degrees may be too high not only because the actual price, college tuition (and perhaps room and
42 2 • Choice in a World of Scarcity

board), is too high. An economist might also say that for many people, the full opportunity cost of a bachelor’s or a

master’s degree is too high. For these people, they are unwilling or unable to make the tradeoff of forfeiting years of

working, and earning an income, to earn a degree.

Finally, the statistics we introduced at the start of the chapter reveal information about intertemporal choices. An

economist might say that people choose not to obtain a college degree because they may have to borrow money to
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