This study calculates, for Quebec, the private and social rates of return for three types of post-secondary education (vocational, college and university) for women and men, and in various fields of study, using data from the 2021 Canadian Census.

The authors explain that the rate of return to pre-college vocational training (apprenticeship or other training) is higher than the rate of return to technical college training, which in turn is higher than the rate of return to pre-college university training. They also show that the highest private and social rates of return for university degrees (excluding medicine) are associated with undergraduate studies, and in particular the bachelor's degree. The rates of return for health-related doctorates, on the other hand, are significantly higher. What's more, private returns are often lower in the 2nd and 3rd cycles than in the first. Social rates of return are lower than private rates of return, essentially because tuition fees cover only part of the cost of an individual's post-secondary education. Finally, this study also shows that women's private rates of return are higher than men's at the DEC technical level.