Education Economics Information
Education economics or the economics of education is the study of economic issues relating to education, including the demand for education and the financing and provision of education. From early works on the relationship between schooling and labor market outcomes for individuals, the field of the economics of education has grown rapidly to cover virtually all areas with linkages to education. An initial introduction into decisions within the educational sector itself by Eric Hanushek led to a dramatic expansion of economists into study of the operation and performance of educational institutions.[1] It has become a very vibrant area for research by young researchers, and it has led to four separate Handbook volumes covering both theoretical and empirical issues.[2]
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Demand for education
Liberal approaches
The dominant model of the demand for education is based on human capital theory. The central idea is that undertaking education is investment in the acquisition of skills and knowledge which will increase earnings, or provide long-term benefits such as an appreciation of literature (sometimes referred to as cultural capital).[3] An increase in human capital can follow technological progress as knowledgeable employees are in demand due to the need for their skills, whether it be in understanding the production process or in operating machines. Studies from 1958 attempted to calculate the returns from additional schooling (the percent increase in income acquired through an additional year of schooling). Later results attempted to allow for different returns across persons or by level of education.[4]
Statistics have shown that countries with high enrollment/graduation rates have grown faster than countries without. The United States has been the world leader in educational advances, beginning with the high school movement (1910–1950). There also seems to be a correlation between gender differences in education with the level of growth; more development is observed in countries which have an equal distribution of the percentage of women versus men who graduated from high school. When looking at correlations in the data, education seems to generate economic growth; however, it could be that we have this causality relationship backwards. For example, if education is seen as a luxury good, it may be that richer households are seeking out educational attainment as a symbol of status, rather than the relationship of education leading to wealth.
Educational advance is not the only variable for economic growth, though, as it only explains about 14% of the average annual increase in labor productivity over the period 1915-2005. From lack of a more significant correlation between formal educational achievement and productivity growth, some economists see reason to believe that in today’s world many skills and capabilities come by way of learning outside of tradition education, or outside of schooling altogether.[5]
An alternative model of the demand for education, commonly referred to as screening, is based on the economic theory of signalling. The central idea is that the successful completion of education is a signal of ability.[6]
Marxist critique
Although Marx and Engels did not write widely about education the social functions of education, their concepts and methods are theorized and criticized by the infuence of Marx as education being used in reproduction of capitalist societies. Marx and Engels approached scholarship as "revolutionary scholarship" where education should serve as a propaganda for the struggle of the working class. [7] The classical Marxian paradigm sees education as serving the interest of capital and is seeking alternative modes of education that would prepare students and citizens for more progressive socialist mode of social organizations. Marx and Engels understood education and free time as essential to developing free individuals and creating many-sided human beings, thus for them education should become a more essential part of the life of people unlike capitalist society which is organized mainly around work and the production of commodities. [7]
Financing and provision
In most countries school education is predominantly financed and provided by governments. Public funding and provision also plays a major role in higher education. Although there is wide agreement on the principle that education, at least at school level, should be financed mainly by governments, there is considerable debate over the desirable extent of public provision of education. Supporters of public education argue that universal public provision promotes equality of opportunity and social cohesion. Opponents of public provision advocate alternatives such as vouchers.[8][9][10]
Education production function
An education production function is an application of the economic concept of a production function to the field of education. It relates various inputs affecting a student’s learning (schools, families, peers, neighborhoods, etc.) to measured outputs including subsequent labor market success, college attendance, graduation rates, and, most frequently, standardized test scores. The original study that eventually prompted interest in the idea of education production functions was by a sociologist, James S. Coleman. The Coleman Report, published in 1966, concluded that the marginal effect of various school inputs on student achievement was small compared to the impact of families and friends. [11] Later work, by Eric A. Hanushek, Richard Murnane, and other economists introduced the structure of "production" to the consideration of student learning outcomes.
A large number of successive studies, increasingly involving economists, produced inconsistent results about the impact of school resources on student performance, leading to considerable controversy in policy discussions.[12][13] The interpretation of the various studies has been very controversial, in part because the findings have directly influenced policy debates. Two separate lines of study have been particularly widely debated. The overall question of whether added funds to schools are likely to produce higher achievement (the “money doesn’t matter” debate) has entered into legislative debates and court consideration of school finance systems.[14][15][16] Additionally, policy discussions about class size reduction heightened academic study of the relationship of class size and achievement.[17][18]
See also
Notes
- ^ Eric A. Hanushek 1986. "The Economics of Schooling: Production and Efficiency in Public Schools." Journal of Economic Literature 24,no.3 (September), p p.1141- 1177.
- ^ Handbook of the Economics of Education, Amsterdam: North Holland. Links to chapter-preview links by volume: • Eric A. Hanushek and Finis Welch, ed., 2006. v. 1 and v. 2. • Eric A. Hanushek, Stephen Machin, and Ludger Woessmann, eds., 2011. Description, v. 3 and v. 4.
- ^ Daniele Checchi, 2006. The Economics of Education: NYUMBANI Human Capital, Family Background and Inequality, Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-79310-6 ISBN 978-0-521-79310-0 Description.
- ^ David Card "returns to schooling," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics , 2nd Edition. Abstract.
- ^ Kling, Arnold and John Merrifield. 2009." Goldin and Katz and Education Policy Failings in Historical Perspective". Econ Journal Watch 6(1): 2-20.[1]
- ^ Johannes Hörner, 2008. "signalling and screening." The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition, Abstract.
- ^ a b Douglas Kellner, Marxian Perspectives on Educational Philosophy: From Classical Marxism to Critical Pedagogy
- ^ William A. Fischel, 2008. "educational finance," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Abstract.
- ^ Caroline Hoxby, 2008. "school choice and competition," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition, Abstract.
- ^ Daniele Checchi, 2006. The Economics of Education: Human Capital, Family Background and Inequality, ch. 5, "Education Financing."
- ^ Coleman, James S., Ernest Q. Campbell, Carol J. Hobson, James McPartland, Alexander M. Mood, Frederic D. Weinfeld, and Robert L. York. 1966. Equality of Educational Opportunity. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
- ^ Eric A. Hanushek, 2008. "education production functions," The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics , 2nd Edition. Abstract.
- ^ Eric A. Hanushek 1986. "The Economics of Schooling: Production and Efficiency in Public Schools." Journal of Economic Literature 24,no.3 (September), p p.1141- 1177.
- ^ Gary Burtless, ed., 1996. Does Money Matter? The Effect of School Resources on Student Achievement and Adult Success. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution. Description and scroll to chapter preview links.
- ^ Greenwald, Rob, Larry V. Hedges, and Richard D. Laine. 1996. "The Effect of School Resources on Student Achievement." Review of Educational Research, 66(3), pp. 361-396.
- ^ Eric A. Hanushek, 1996. "A More Complete Picture of School Resource Policies." Review of Educational Research, 66(3), p p. 397-409.
- ^ Lawrence Mishel, and Richard Rothstein, eds., 2002. The Class Size Debate. Link. Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute.
- ^ Ehrenberg, Ronald G., Dominic J. Brewer, Adam Gamoran, and J. Douglas Willms, 2001. "Class size and student achievement," Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 2(1), pp. 1-30.
References
- Roland Bénabou, 1996."Heterogeneity, Stratification, and Growth: Macroeconomic Implications of Community Structure and School Finance," American Economic Review,86(3) p p. 584- 609.
- Mark Blaug, 1985. "Where Are We Now in the Economics of Education?" Economics of Education Review, 4(1), pp. 17–28. Abstract.
- Clive R. Belfield, ed., 2006.Modern Classics In The Economics Of Education, Elgar. Description.
- Eric A. Hanushek, 1986. "The economics of schooling: Production and efficiency in public schools." Journal of Economic Literature 24, no. 3 (September): 1141-1177.
- Eric A. Hanushek, 1992. "The Trade-off between Child Quantity and Quality," Journal of Political Economy, 100(1), p p. 84-117.
- Stephen A. Hoenack, 1996. "The Economics of Education in Developing Countries: An Assessment of the State of the Art," Economics of Education Review, 15(4), pp. 327–338. Abstract.
- Caroline M. Hoxby, 1999. "The Productivity of Schools and Other Local Public Goods Producers," Journal of Public Economics, 74(1), pp. 1–30 Abstract.
- _____, 2000. "Does Competition among Public Schools Benefit Students and Taxpayers?" American Economic Review, 90(5), p p. 1209- 1238.
- Geraint Johnes and Jill Johnes, ed., 2004. International Handbook on the Economics of Education, Elgar. Chapter titles.
- George Psacharopoulos and Harry A. Patrinos, 2004. "Returns to Investment in Education: A Further Update," Education Economics, 12(2), pp. 111–134. Abstract.
- Steven G. Rivkin, Eric A. Hanushek, and John F. Kain, 2005. "Teachers, Schools, and Academic Achievement," Econometrica, 73(2), pp. 417–458. Abstract.
- Sherwin Rosen, 1987. "human capital," The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, v. 2, pp. 681–90.
Selected entries on education from The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2008), 2nd Edition:
- "education in developing countries" by Paul Glewwe. Abstract.
- "human capital, fertility and growth" by Oded Galor. Abstract.
- "intergenerational transmission" by Lance Lochner.Abstract.
- "local public finance" by John M. Quigley. Abstract.
- "population health, economic implications of" by David Canning and David E. Bloom. Abstract.
External links
- Economics of Education Review Description & links to article titles.
- Education Economics Aims & Scope & links to article titles.
- World Bank, "Economics of Education"
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