The Political Economy of Education: Implications for Growth and Inequality, vol 1

Mark Gradstein (), Moshe Justman and Volker Meier
Additional contact information
Mark Gradstein: Ben Gurion University

in MIT Press Books from The MIT Press

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: growth; inequality; financing; regulation; education; political economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004
Edition: 1
ISBN: 0-262-07256-4
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (45)

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mtp:titles:0262072564

Access Statistics for this book

More books in MIT Press Books from The MIT Press
Bibliographic data for series maintained by The MIT Press ().