The purpose of The Political Economy of the Educational Process is to demonstrate in an elemental way what economics can contribute to our understanding of how education occurs. Although in ways similar, the book is significantly different from other studies in the economics of education. Other works are primarily concerned with the effects which education (or, to use the economist's jargon, human capital) has on production, market efficiency, and the distri bution of income. The central concern of this book is how and why the student goes about acquiring whatever human capital he wishes and how the institutional setting of the university influences the amount of human capital that the student acquires. This book deals with the learning process and, therefore, draws upon an earlier book written by Robert Staaf and myself. 1 However, the "economic theory of learning," which Staaf and I developed earlier in very pre cise mathematical terms, is extended here through a fuller treat ment of the political environment in which education occurs. A major concern of this work is to make the economic analysis easily understood by professional educators and social scientists generally. To accomplish this objective, Chapter 2 develops for the non economicists the tools of analysis which are used throughout the book. Hopefully, by shying away from esoteric theory and by try ing to make the discussion provocative and informative, the book 1. See Richard B. McKenzie and Robert J.

This book analyzes the political economy of higher education finance across a range of OECD countries, exploring why some students pay extortionate tuition fees whilst for others their education is free. What are the redistributional consequences of these different tuition-subsidy systems? Analysing the variety of existing systems, Garritzmann shows that across the advanced democracies “Four Worlds of Student Finance” exist. Historically, however, all countries’ higher education systems looked very much alike in the 1940s. The book develops a theoretical model, the Time-Sensitive Partisan Theory, to explain why countries have evolved from a similar historical starting point to today’s very distinct Four Worlds. The empirical analyses combine a wide variety of qualitative and quantitative evidence, studying higher education policies in all advanced democracies from 1945-2015.

A textbook providing academically rigorous yet clear explanations of the economics and politics driving today's educational systems and how economists analyze them. This essential text for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in economics, public policy, and education covers all major topics and is packed with international examples.

This book integrates the economics of aging and insight based on political economy and explores generational conflict in the context of governmental spending. This problem is general, as the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted: lockdowns protect the elderly, but hurt the young. Policies to address global warming impose taxes on the elderly, but would bring benefits largely in the future. This book addresses intergenerational problems by placing its focus on budget allocation, taxation, and regulation. By using Japanese and US data, the authors conduct statistical analysis of whether regions with aging populations may adopt policies that generate benefits during a short period of time instead of policies that could benefit current young generations for an extended period of time. If the policy preferences of voters depend on their age, and if policy adoption by a government reflects public opinion, the change in demographic composition in a region may affect governmental policies. In an aged society, the elderly are pivotal voters. Budgets may be reallocated from policies favored by younger generations, such as education, to policies the elderly prefer, such as welfare programs. This generates an intergenerational externality problem: voters with short life expectancy do not take into consideration long-term benefits. Moreover, the current tax bases may be replaced by other tax bases that do not harm the elderly. The results reported in the book largely support these hypotheses. Evidence also shows that the gender and racial composition and institutional factors, including the extent of fiscal decentralization, are important in anticipating effects of population aging in other countries.

The failure of reform policies in areas of critical importance to Arab populations such as health and education played a central role in igniting the Arab Awakening, yet this policy perspective has been largely absent from recent studies of the region. Arab regimes most reliant on repression to guarantee their survival were also those most vulnerable to mass politics. Where threats to regime survival have been limited, so have more meaningful reforms been possible, finding an alternative to political change through focusing on "soft policy" areas such as education. A Political Economy of Arab Education offers a comprehensive analysis of K-12 education systems in Arab countries, deepening understanding of their administrative structures and outcomes, and exploring how political considerations have impacted the ability of Arab regimes to engage in meaningful reform. Taking a unique comparative political economy perspective, it examines the reasons behind policy stagnation in Arab countries, addressing the effects of size, history and political stability on the design and implementation of policies and administrative structures. Its informed analysis and comparison of education systems provides new insight into Arab regimes and highlights factors pulling them towards either stagnation or reform. Examining the sustainability of reforms and establishing the benefits of engaging in meaningful change, this book sheds light on why some regimes survived the Arab Spring while others crumbled and formulates convincing predictions on the potential for future regime change in the region. This book will be of key interest to students and scholars of Middle Eastern Studies, International and Comparative Education and Development Studies.

Ilchman and Uphoff believe that political science has failed in the past to meet its own standards of rigor and cogency and does not meet standards of usefulness and relevance set by others. The Political Economy of Change attempts to remedy these shortcomings by expanding the limits of social science analysis to deal with problems of allocation and productivity in all spheres of public choice, not just the economic sphere.

First published in 1982, this reissue deals with the theory of underdevelopment, as Dr. de Silva attempts a synthesis between the internal and external aspects of underdevelopment and, in the Marxist tradition, focuses on the impact of the external on the internal as the dominant reality. Viewing underdevelopment as a problem in the non-transformation to capitalism, this analysis is in terms of the character of the dominant capital and of the dominant classes. Underdevelopment thus encompasses the ‘traditional’ peasant economy and also the export sector where the ‘modernizing’ influence of colonialism was felt. The book finally considers how the contemporary internationalization of capital affected the economies of the Third World.

The book examines skill systems and vocational training in a number of coordinated market economies, analysing historical origins and contemporary developments. As well as case studies on Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Denmark, it also contains comparative chapters exploring reactions to common challenges.

In this timely book, Theodore Koutsobinas explores the system of status markets and their social effects including inequality. He explains how media fascination with superstars and luxury consumption goods amplify positional concerns for all, distort t