The Economic Role of the State in Education

The economic and political importance of education has increased dramatically over the course of the past century. Education is the largest item of public expenditure in countries around the world, and formal schooling consumes an ever-larger quantity of young people’s time. The centrality of education in modern societies is mainly a consequence of state action. The state has built and expanded national education systems; encouraged and sometimes compelled young people to attend school; and fostered rewards systems that make adult success increasingly contingent on academic persistence and performance. In this article we question why this should be so, and discuss the economic factors that help to explain why the state finances and often provides schools.

This article was originally published in the International Encyclopedia of Education by Elsevier and ScienceDirect.