Undertaking a pharmacy education is an investment in human capital. Candidates trade off present versus future costs and benefits. They make this investment with the expectation of earning enough income throughout their worklives to make their undertaking financially worthwhile. Whether or not this occurs is determined by the rate of return. The aim of the current study was to construct a theoretical model to estimate the rate of return to a pharmacy education investment. Specifications for model assumptions, inputs, and outputs are discussed. The outputs are the rates of return, the inputs are the costs and benefits of a pharmacy education, and the assumptions illustrate the circumstances of the individual or group for whom the model is built. The rate of return is the annual percentage that equates the streams of benefits and costs over the investment span. The higher the value of the rate of return to a pharmacy education is, the more profitable is the investment. This theoretical model may be used to estimate the financial viability of pharmacy and compare it to the viability of other professions or to the viability of pharmacy among various locations.
Keywords: education; human-capital investment; pharmacist workforce; rate of return; wages and salaries.