Master
2021/2022
Economics of Education
Type:
Elective course (Pedagogy)
Area of studies:
Pedagogy
Delivered by:
Institute of Education
Where:
Institute of Education
When:
1 year, 4 module
Mode of studies:
offline
Open to:
students of one campus
Master’s programme:
Pedagogy
Language:
English
ECTS credits:
3
Contact hours:
22
Course Syllabus
Abstract
We will cover concepts of supply and demand, consumer behavior, and production theory in order to understand individuals' incentives to invest in education, an economic interpretation of how schools function, and the role of government intervention in the provision of education. We will emphasize how to use data to test economic theory and to predict the effects of policy initiatives. Among the topics we will cover are returns to educational attainment, the importance of school resources in determining academic achievement, school choice, teacher labor markets, and educational finance. This course has no prerequisites.
Learning Objectives
- The overall goal of this course is to introduce you to the economic analysis of education. Specifically, the course is intended to help you become knowledgeable in five major areas: 1. How economists define the “problematic” of education. 2. The concept of education as an investment (human capital), measuring the value of that investment, and how education contributes to economic growth and income distribution. 3. Teacher labor markets and teacher “value” in the educational process. 4. Schools as places of production and the economics of the education production process. 5. Education as a public and private investment good and the implications for educational finance in both K-12 and higher education.
Expected Learning Outcomes
- discuss intelligently how economists view the life cycle of investment in learning and skills for work.
- discuss intelligently the contribution that economics and economists have made to how we think about the role of education in society.
- discuss intelligently the various ways governments raise money to pay for education and whether some ways are more effective and more equitable than others.
- discuss intelligently whether higher salaries for teachers will bring “better” teachers in the teaching profession.
- discuss intelligently whether raising educational requirements has a positive or negative effect on teacher quality.
- discuss intelligently how the financing of higher education is changing toward cost sharing (user taxes) and how to estimate the impact this has on equity.
