The present paper starts by discussing the principles of public funding of universities. The size of the social returns to investment in education gives an indication regarding the most efficient use of resources, while the difference between the private and the social rates relates to issues of equity. The available evidence is contrasted to…

Documents a number of benefits of education and indicates their approximate empirical size. In terms of quantifiable monetary efficiency, high school graduation is at the top of the list, especially in a period of economic stagnation. (Author/IRT)

A statistical analysis using the social marginal product of labor to estimate the rate of return on investment in education instead of market earnings. (BC)

This paper reports on the economic returns to investment in education in a large number of countries and attempts to trace patterns that might exist between the returns to education and other socio-economic characteristics of the countries involved. (Author/RY)

Returns to investment in education based on human capital theory have been estimated since the late 1950s. In the 40-plus year history of estimates of returns to investment in education, there have been several reviews of the empirical results in attempts to establish patterns. Many more estimates from a wide variety of countries, including…

Refutes the argument for diversifying the secondary school curriculum in developing countries to produce a closer fit between education and the world of work. A followup study of Colombian secondary school graduates of diversified and non-diversified schools discloses no external positive efficiency effects on such curricular innovation. Includes…

Uses household survey data for 18 Latin American countries to assess earnings differentials by education level and to chart 1980s changes. Introducing cost of education allows private and social rates of return to education investment to be estimated by education level, gender, employment sector, curriculum type, duration. In most countries,…

Discusses the economic rationale for providing educational and day-care facilities to young children, using an expanded social cost-benefit framework. Argues that very little is known about the socioeconomic effects of providing kindergarten and nursery facilities and proposes an interdisciplinary research agenda. (Author/RH)

Looks at the socioeconomic rationale for higher-education provision in developing countries. Reviews costs and benefits associated with investment in higher education as a whole (especially in different postsecondary subjects) with particular attention paid to returns to scale from university expansion. Makes distinction between incidence and…

Using data from the 1985 Buenos Aires (Argentina) Household Survey of 4,500 employed individuals, earnings differences are explained by a set of individual human capital characteristics. Returns to education investments are then estimated for different levels and types of schooling. Secondary and higher education investments need to be retargeted.…

Uses data from the 1989 Venezuelan Household Survey to assess macropriorities among educational investment in that country. An earnings analysis by educational level reveals persisting, if declining, advantages for the more educated. The cost-benefit analysis indicates that primary education yields the highest returns, whereas higher education…

Presents a taxonomy of research areas in educational economics and outlines key topics deserving more research attention. Emphasizes documenting the unit cost of education at different schooling levels and curriculum types, along with learning and earning schooling outcomes. Topics needing further research include the screening hypothesis,…

After the failures of manpower planning, research shows that investment in primary and general secondary education yields greater returns than investment in more costly vocational/higher education. To be more effective, investment in vocational education should be more influenced by the individual with greater private sector provision.…

The purpose of this essay is to briefly survey from a global point of view theoretical and empirical issues related to the economics of early childhood education and day care. The first section of the essay takes up issues in two broad areas of policy: (1) social efficiency, and (2) opportunity and equity. The first class of issues implies a…

The socioeconomic rationale of higher education provision in developing countries is examined by a review of the costs and benefits associated with investment in higher education as a whole and especially in different postsecondary subjects. University expenditures in developing countries typically account for less than 20 percent of the state…