 For example, if education is seen as a luxury good, it may be that richer households are seeking out educational attainment as a symbol of status, rather than the relationship of education leading to wealth.Educational advance is not the only variable for economic growth, though, as it only explains about 14% of the average annual increase in labor productivity over the period 1915-2005.From lack of a more significant correlation between formal educational achievement and productivity growth, some economists see reason to believe that in today's world many skills and capabilities come by way of learning outside of traditional education, or outside of schooling altogether.