It pays to study hard at university, according to research by Shqiponja Telhaj and colleagues. Their study finds that there is a significant hourly wage premium for getting a first or upper second. For graduates more than five years out of university, the wage premium for a good degree is 7-9%. Does an individual’s educational achievement at university affect their pay later in life? This research looks at evidence on degree classes and UK graduate earnings during the period of expansion of higher education. It shows that as more young people get degrees, the premium for graduating with a good degree increases.

This article summarises 'If you pay peanuts, do you get monkeys? A cross-country analysis of teacher pay and pupil performance' by Peter Dolton and Oscar Marcenaro-Gutierrez, Economic Policy 26(65): 5-55, January 2011