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The role of the private and public sector in human capital formation

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Intereconomics

Abstract

While there are strong equity and efficiency reasons for subsidizing education in developing countries, the prevailing dominance of governments in the financing and provision of educational services can be questioned. There is some evidence supporting the conclusion that a partial cost recovery through user fees may reduce the rationing of services which is still a pressing problem in many low-income countries, and that private providers tend to be more cost-efficient than their public counterparts.

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References

  1. See, for example, Christopher Colclough: Education and the Market: Which Parts of the Neoliberal Solution are correct?, in: World Development, Vol. 24, 1996, pp. 589–610.

  2. Gary Becker: Human Capital. A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education, National Bureau of Economic Research, New York 1964; Jacob Mincer: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, National Bureau of Economic Research, New York 1974.

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  4. Tarsico Castañeda: Combating Poverty: Innovative Social Reforms in Chile During the 1980s, International Center for Economic Growth, San Francisco 1992.

  5. Gary Becker (1964) op. cit. Human Capital. A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education, National Bureau of Economic Research, New York 1964. Theodore Schultz: Investments in Human Capital, in: American Economic Review, Vol. 51, 1961, 1, pp. 1–17.

  6. Cf. Nicholas Barr: The Economics of the Welfare State, second edition, London 1993.

  7. Orley Ashenfelter, Alan B. Krueger: Estimates of the Economic Return to Schooling from a New Sample of Twins, in: American Economic Review, Vol. 84, 1994, 5, pp. 1157–1173.

  8. David Card, Alan B. Krueger: Does School Quality Matter? Returns to Education and the Characteristics of Public Schools in the United States, in: Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 100, 1992, 1, pp. 1–40.

  9. David Card, Alan B. Krueger: School Resources and Student Outcomes: An Overview of the Literature and New Evidence from North and South Carolina, in: Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 10, 1996, 4, pp. 31–50.

  10. See, for example, David Card and Alan B. Krueger, op. cit., School Resources and Student Outcomes: An Overview of the Literature and New Evidence from North and South Carolina, in: Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 10, 1996, 4, pp. 31–50. and Eric A. Hanushek: Measuring Investment in Education, in: Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 10, 1996, 4, pp. 9–30, for a recent debate on this issue.

  11. Kenneth Arrow: Higher Education as a Filter, In: Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 1, 1993, pp. 193–216; Michael Spence: Job Market Signalling, in: Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 87, 1973, pp. 355–374.

  12. Christopher Colclough, op. cit. Education and the Market: Which Parts of the Neoliberal Solution are correct?, in: World Development, Vol. 24, 1996, pp. 589–610.

  13. Cf. Richard A. Musgrave: The Theory of Public Finance: A study in Public Economy, New York 1959.

  14. Nicholas Stern: Comment on ‘Social Sector Pricing Policy Revisited’ by Jimenez, in: Proceedings of the World Bank Annual Conference on Development Economics, Washington, D.C. 1990.

  15. Alberto Alesina, Roberto Perotti: Income Distribution, Political Instability, and Investment, in: European Economic Review, Vol. 40, 1996, pp. 1203–1228; Roberto Perotti: Growth, Income Distribution, and Democracy: What the Data Say, in: Journal of Economic Growth, Vol. 1, 1996, 2, pp. 149–187; Torsten Persson, Guido Tabellini: Is Inequality Harmful for Growth? Theory and Evidence, in: American Economic Review, Vol. 84, 1994, pp. 600–621.

  16. Cf. Roberto Perotti, op. cit. Growth, Income Distribution, and Democracy: What the Data Say, in: Journal of Economic Growth, Vol. 1, 1996, 2, pp. 149–187. This mechanism is derived from a model of endogenous fertility which regards the investment in education and child-bearing as substitutes in the utility function of women. Cf. Gary S. Becker, Kevin M. Murphy, Robert Tamura: Human Capital, Fertility and Economic Growth, in: Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 98, 1990, 5, pp. 512–537.

  17. Nicholas Barr, op. cit. The Economics of the Welfare State, second edition, London 1993.

  18. See Emmanuel Jimenez: Social Sector Pricing Policy Revisited: A Survey of Some Recent Controversies, in: Proceedings of the World Bank Annual Conference on Development Economics, Washington, D.C., 1990 and the case of Chile below.

  19. Gary S. Becker: A Theory of Competition Among Pressure Groups for Political Influence, in: The Quarterly Journal of Economics 88, 1983, pp. 371–400. Another political economy model which is often used to explain redistributional outcomes is the median voter model. Cf. James M. Buchanan, Gordon Tullock: The Calculus of Consent, Ann Arbor 1962.

  20. See Emmanuel Jimenez, op. cit. Social Sector Pricing Policy Revisited: A Survey of Some Recent Controversies, in: Proceedings of the World Bank Annual Conference on Development Economics, Washington, D.C., 1990 and the case of Chile below.

  21. Paul Gertler, Paul Glewwe: The Willingness to Pay for Education in Developing Countries: Evidence from Rural Peru, in: Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 42, 1990, 3, pp. 251–275; Paul Gertler, Paul Glewwe: The Willingness of Households to Pay for Improvements in School Quality: Evidence from Ghana, World Bank, Conference on Public Expenditures and the Poor: Incidence and Targeting (Mimeo), 1992.

  22. Christopher Colclough, op. cit. Education and the Market: Which Parts of the Neoliberal Solution are correct?, in: World Development, Vol. 24, 1996, pp. 589–610.

  23. Paul Gertler, Paul Glewwe, op. cit. The Willingness to Pay for Education in Developing Countries: Evidence from Rural Peru, in: Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 42, 1990, 3, pp. 251–275.

  24. Nicholas Barr, op. cit. The Economics of the Welfare State, second edition, London 1993.

  25. Christopher Colclough, op. cit. Education and the Market: Which Parts of the Neoliberal Solution are correct?, in: World Development, Vol. 24, 1996, pp. 589–610.

  26. Emmanuel Jimenez, Marlaine E. Lockheed: Public and Private Secondary Education in Developing Countries: A Comparative Study, World Bank Discussion Paper No. 309, 1995.

  27. Ibid. Emmanuel Jimenez, Marlaine E. Lockheed: Public and Private Secondary Education in Developing Countries: A Comparative Study, World Bank Discussion Paper No. 309, 1995.

  28. Tarsico Castañeda, op. cit. Combating Poverty: Innovative Social Reforms in Chile During the 1980s, International Center for Economic Growth, San Francisco 1992.

  29. World Bank: World Development Report, Washington, D.C. 1995.

  30. Christopher Colclough, op. cit. Education and the Market: Which Parts of the Neoliberal Solution are correct?, in: World Development, Vol. 24, 1996, pp. 589–610.

  31. Tarsicio Castañeda, op. cit. Combating Poverty: Innovative Social Reforms in Chile During the 1980s, International Center for Economic Growth, San Francisco 1992.

  32. Ibid. Tarsicio Castañeda, op. cit. Combating Poverty: Innovative Social Reforms in Chile During the 1980s, International Center for Economic Growth, San Francisco 1992.

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Thiele, R. The role of the private and public sector in human capital formation. Intereconomics 32, 186–192 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02928433

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