chSchooleducation(福利经济学牛津大学,Barr).pptVIP

Chapter 13: School education Organization of the chapter 1. Introduction 2. Aims 3. Methods 4. Assessment of UK school education 5. Reform 6. Conclusion 1. Introduction This chapter, on school education, and the next, about higher education, are matching twins. Using the same theory they reach sharply different conclusions about the role of the state Institutions: most school education in the UK is publicly funded and publicly organised 2. Aims 2.1 Concepts Primary objective: to transmit Knowledge and skills, and Attitudes and values Sources of educational outcomes Income/wealth Individual choice Parenting Access to education Natural ability Thus educational outcomes do not depend only on access to schools Instrumental objectives: efficiency and equity Efficiency: if we spent nothing on education, people would be unable to read; if we spent the whole of GDP on education, there would be no food and we would die of starvation. The optimal quantity lies somewhere between Equity: no unambiguous definition 2.2. Measuring costs and benefits Measuring costs: feasible, though not without its problems Benefits are hard to quantify: Output cannot be measured: it includes consumption benefits, investment benefits, and external benefits, including shared values. Most of these are unmeasurable, but that does not make them unreal Connecting inputs and outputs is problematical Causality cannot be established. The screening hypothesis questions the causal link between post-primary education and increased individual productivity. Is a person productive because she is naturally able, or because she has been well educated? 3. Methods 3.1. Theoretical arguments for intervention 1: Efficiency Perfect information Competition 1: the market for education Competition 2: capital markets Externalities 1) Information problems Are individuals well-informed about the nature of the product? Children are not well-informed The cost of mistaken choice can be high Are people well-informed a