Chapter 7: Education Beyond Economic Growth: An Introduction to Sustainable Development By Tatyana P. Soubbotina

Overview of Chapter 7: Education Education builds human capital Private and public investments in education Primary education and literacy Two important literacy gaps Issues in secondary and tertiary education Does more spending increase

Education builds human capital Human capital (people’s abilities, knowledge, and skills) is a key driver of growth in the “knowledge economy” Governments, private companies, and individuals invest in education and training to grow human capital Sometimes private returns to education are low if education is of low-quality or doesn’t provide needed skills if little demand for human capital, e.g., from slow growth if educated workers do not receive higher wages Governments fill the gap, e.g., by providing primary education or financing higher education

Primary education and the literacy gaps Primary education provides literacy and numeracy leading to higher productivity and improved health Primary education is not universal in developing countries (Fig. 7.1) due to i) poor quality schools, ii) inaccessible schools, iii) need for child labor, iv) obstacles for girls Two important literacy gaps (Fig. 7.2) Higher literacy rates in higher income countries Higher literacy rates for males than females

Secondary and tertiary (post-secondary) education High-income countries have a large and increasing advantage in secondary and tertiary education enrollments (Fig. 7.3 & 7.4) Reasons: child labor, limited access Can education quality be improved? More resources may not be the answer (Fig. 7.5) Information technology could be instrumental Education and training must meet every-changing needs of “knowledge economy” workforce