system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Do economists agree that education is mostly signaling? Or are there benefits to education beyond that of just the degree?

Do economists agree that education is mostly signaling? Or are there benefits to education beyond that of just the degree and showing of your innate abilities?

What does the research say? Do many economists and researchers in the area of education agree with people like Bryan Caplan who argue that most of the benefits of education is signaling? Or are these views still heavily contested?
gpt
Empirically it's both!

There is strong evidence that education and training improve an individual's performance and productivity. Many case studies measure skills before and after training, along with a control group who doesn't get training. It's clear skills improve with the tutoring.

Signaling is also clearly present. Using difference models, income for similar student populations diverges if they select premium schools or not, even if the coursework is nearly identical. 

Neither answer is the complete picture. Human capital models work best when the education is specific (E.g. Learning a trade, or STEM). Those skills are not innate and education improves them.

Signaling matters more on subjective skills: art, law, etc... Or hard to measure skills. And on vague or general education. Ivy league general degree commands a premium over a public university.