Clearly, some goods have characteristics of being both consumption goods and investment goods. Education, and specifically higher education, has characteristics of being a consumption good and an investment good. When I decide to attend the local university, I am purchasing an investment good . I am spending a lot of money. The education I receive over time will pay dividends and provide benefits to me for many years into the future. Economic analysis shows that those who have a college degree will, in general, earn a greater lifetime income than those with less education. In fact, in recent economic times with significantly historically high unemployment rates, economists have shown the unemployment rate for those with a high school degree to be double than those with a college degree. In addition, it is often argued that those with a college degree tend to reap non-quantifiable benefits throughout their lifetime as a result of their education healthier lifestyles, lower medical cost, greater utility from the consumption of the arts.