1.4.7

Case Study - The Externalities of Education

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Positive Externalities in Education

The private returns and social returns in education diverge. There are many positive externalities:

Illustrative background for 1. Social cohesion & cultural valuesIllustrative background for 1. Social cohesion & cultural values ?? "content

  1. Social cohesion & cultural values

  • Everyone in a society learning to get along with one another, mixing at school and having a shared knowledge base should have a positive impact on cohesion in a society.
Illustrative background for 2. Crime reductionIllustrative background for 2. Crime reduction ?? "content

  1. Crime reduction

  • Crime reduces other people's welfare.
  • Moretti's (2001) research found that people with higher levels of education were more likely to vote and less likely to be involved in crime.
Illustrative background for 3. Economic growthIllustrative background for 3. Economic growth ?? "content

  1. Economic growth

  • Economic growth involves using the same inputs to create more or higher quality outputs. This should benefit everyone. In the UK, someone with a median income probably lives better than the Queen 100 years ago.
  • Krueger & Lindahl (2001) find that people receiving better education is associated with faster economic growth.
  • Barro & Sala-i-Martin (1995) completed statistical analysis that found that a 1% rise in spending on education as a % of GDP led to a 0.15% increase in economic growth.

Jump to other topics

1Microeconomics

2Macroeconomics

2.1The Level of Overall Economic Activity

2.2Aggregate Demand & Aggregate Supply

2.3Macroeconomic Objectives

2.4Economic Growth, Poverty & Inequality

2.5Fiscal Policy

2.6Monetary Policy

2.7Supply-Side Policies

3The Global Economy

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