The Political Economy of Education: Implications for Growth and Inequality

Első borító
MIT Press, 2004. okt. 22. - 176 oldal
A theoretical framework for analyzing the complex relationship of education, growth, and income distribution.

The dominant role played by the state in the financing, regulation, and provision of primary and secondary education reflects the widely-held belief that education is necessary for personal and societal well-being. The economic organization of education depends on political as well as market mechanisms to resolve issues that arise because of contrasting views on such matters as income inequality, social mobility, and diversity. This book provides the theoretical framework necessary for understanding the political economy of education—the complex relationship of education, economic growth, and income distribution—and for formulating effective policies to improve the financing and provision of education. The relatively simple models developed illustrate the use of analytical tools for understanding central policy issues. After offering a historical overview of the development of public education and a review of current econometric evidence on education, growth, and income distribution, the authors lay the theoretical groundwork for the main body of analysis. First they develop a basic static model of how political decisions determine education spending; then they extend this model dynamically. Applying this framework to a comparison of education financing under different regimes, the authors explore fiscal decentralization; individual choice between public and private schooling, including the use of education vouchers to combine public financing of education with private provision; and the social dimension of education—its role in state-building, the traditional "melting pot" that promotes cohesion in a culturally diverse society.

Részletek a könyvből

Tartalomjegyzék

Introduction
1
What Does Education Do?
2
Why Public Education?
4
The Scope of the Book
9
Historical and Institutional Perspectives
11
The Role of the Public Sector in Modern Education
17
Four Education Systems
21
Conclusions
27
Public Education and Democracy
72
Conclusions
74
Appendix 52 Political Dynamics
77
Central versus Local Education Finance
79
Demand for Education Quality and Residential Segregation
80
Local and Central Education Funding
83
Dynamic Implications
84
Mixed Modes of Education Financing
86

Education Growth and Distribution Empirical Evidence
29
Investing in Education
31
The Contribution of Human Capital to Growth
35
Education and Income Distribution
40
Conclusions
43
Political Determination of Education Spending
45
A Basic Model of Private Education
46
Public Schooling
47
Empirical Evidence on Income and Substitution Elasticities
50
Differences in Abilities
51
Comparing Public and Private Education in the Short Run
53
Education and Redistribution
55
Conclusions
59
Appendix 42 A Stochastic Model
61
Dynamic Models of Education
63
A Dynamic Economy
64
Differences in Abilities
67
Income Dynamics under Public Schooling
68
Conclusions
94
Mixed Regimes of Public and Private Schooling
95
A Basic Model of Opting Out of Public Education
98
Religious Preferences
102
Residential Mobility and School Choice
104
The Effect of School Vouchers on Enrollment and Spending
107
Conclusions
109
Education Social Capital and the Dynamics of Cohesion
111
Education and the Dynamics of Social Polarization
113
Welfare Implications of Different Schooling Regimes
116
Public Education as a Melting Pot
120
Policy Implications
124
Conclusions
126
Directions for Future Research
129
Notes
133
References
147
Index
Copyright

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A szerzőről (2004)

Mark Gradstein is Professor and Chair of the Department of Economics at Ben Gurion University in Israel.

Moshe Justman is Professor of Economics at Ben Gurion University.

Volker Meier is a Research Associate at the Ifo Institute for Economic Research and a Research Fellow at CESifo.

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