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Economics of Education
Education as an Investment in Human
Capital
Human capital is the skills, training,
education, knowledge, and ability possessed by workers. Education and training
are means of developing human capital.
Skilled workers are those with lots of
human capital; unskilled workers possess little human capital. Skilled workers
receive a higher wage than unskilled workers because
(1) skilled workers have produce more valuable
output than unskilled workers and
(2) the supply of skilled workers is
smaller than the supply of unskilled workers.
Spending on Education
Most of the benefits from education are private benefits: better
educated workers receive higher wages. So why is K-12 education publicly
funded?
external benefits of education:
- less
likely to commit crime
- less
likely to be on welfare
- more
likely to be productive citizens who pay more in taxes than they collect
in government benefits
- diversity
in the classroom may foster social stability
Higher Education
Why is college so much more costly than elementary and secondary
education?
College professors are paid more than elementary and secondary
school teachers. College professors also teach less than elementary and
secondary school teachers. Colleges have expensive libraries and laboratories.
School Reform
merit pay and tenure for teachers
- teachers
tend to be paid solely on the basis of education and seniority
- cannot
be fired after they have taught for a set number of years
- when
pay is not based on performance, there is an incentive to do as little as
possible
- tenure
adds to the lack of performance incentives for older teachers
Teacher unions argue that teachers work
to the best of their ability at all times and that letting principals hand out
merit raises and fire bad teachers would foster cronyism. Besides, the pay of
teachers is low in general.
Poverty in America
Measuring Poverty
A country's measure of poverty must
compare relative income levels within that country. For example, someone who is
comfortable in Ethiopia would be considered impoverished in the U.S.
In 2003, the poverty level for a family
of 4 (2 adults and 2 children)was $18,660. About 35.9 million U.S. residents
live below the poverty line. The poverty rate is 12.5%.
The percentage of poor people fell a lot
during the 1960's and early 1970's. The record low poverty rate was 11.1% in
1973. It rose in the late 1970's but has fallen since.
Who are the Poor?
The incidence of poverty is unequally distributed among sections
of society.
- the
highest incidence of poverty occurs among those who are under age 18:
17.6% (the poverty rate for those over 65, 10.2%, is less than that for
those age 18 to 64)
- the
incidence of poverty is much higher among blacks (24.4%) and Hispanics
(22.5%) than it is among whites (8.2%)
- the
poverty rate among married couples is 5.4% while the poverty rate among
female headed households is 28.0%
Causes
of Poverty
- lack
of a job - accounts for 3/4th of those in poverty
- place
of residence - 2/3 of the poor live in big cities; 1/3 live in rural areas
- lack
of education - 25% of the people with less than 8 years of schooling live
in poverty
Programs
to Help the Poor
Social insurance programs are designed to replace the lost income
of those who worked but are now retired or disabled. Social security and
Medicare are the major social insurance programs.
Income assistance programs provide money and in-kind benefits to
the poor.
- Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families
- Supplemental
Security Income (SSI)
- Medicaid
- food
stamps
Welfare
Reform
- those
who receive welfare benefits lose the incentive to return to work
- those
who grew up on welfare become dependent on welfare into adulthood and
consider it a "right"
Before 1996, 35 states had some form of workfare: require welfare
recipients to accept public service jobs or participate in job training
1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act:
- replaced
AFDC with TANF
- lifetime
5 year limit that a recipient can be on welfare
- people
on welfare for 2 years must participate in welfare to work program
- limits
benefits for noncitizens and teenage mothers not living at home
- states
must be more aggressive in enforcing child support payments from fathers
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