Private school graduates tend to earn more. Why? It’s complicated

When I was 12 years old my parents gave me a choice. I could stay at the leafy-green Perth private school I’d cracked into that year on an academic scholarship, or move to a selective public school. At the time, I shrugged my shoulders: I liked where I was, but wondered what a change might bring. In a decision that felt like a coin toss, I went down the public school path. Illustration: Andrew Dyson My decision was not guided by whether I might ultimately earn more as the graduate of a public, rather than a private, school. But that is a preoccupation for aspirational parents who often pay huge premiums to send their children to…