<p>I think I understand the point you are getting at. The prestige of attending an institution or bearing a degree from that institution has a value above and beyond the quality of the education that the institution provides. The quality at Guam may be the same or better than at Harvard, but from Harvard you derive the prestige, and hence the degree is more valuable.</p>
<p>And you suggest that from prestige there follows ECONOMIC VALUE. Because Mckinsey recruits people with prestigious degrees and educational pedigrees, then you can assign ECONOMIC VALUE to prestige.</p>
<p>If I am correct in my interpretation of what you suggest, then I think that you are arguing that PRESTIGE IS REALLY A FACADE, in a sense like a label, and that the real substance is what lies behind it.</p>