Richard Vedder: As college costs rise, however, people are asking: Aren't there cheaper ways of certifying competence and skills to employers? ... [I]f companies can find good employees with high-school diplomas who have demonstrated necessary skills and competency via some cheaper (to society) means, they might be able to hire workers more cheaply than before -- paying wages that are high by high-school-graduate standards, but low relative to college-graduate norms. Employers can capture the huge savings of reduced certification costs.
