In economics a public good is defined as a good that is both non-rivalrous and non-excludable. In other words, a public good is defined as a product or service where the following are True:
- An additional consumer of the product or service does not impact the ability of others to consume
- It is not possible to prevent someone from consuming the good
A good example of a public good is something like national defense.
A bad example of a public good is university education. University education meets neither of the criteria necessary in order to be classified as a public good.
I think that what the author means to say is that there are positive externalities that are associated with the provision of public universities.
While your conceptual waiter with a degree in women's studies is a dubious example of the benefits of education, there is some evidence available that suggests that the availability of education is, in the aggregate, strongly correlated with certain positive societal outcomes.
This is a bit outside of my areas of study, so I am not able to suggest specific readings. However, I can point you in the general direction of a couple of Google scholar search results:
Of course, there is also some evidence that strongly calls into question the general purpose of post-secondary education. Is post-secondary education beneficial in its own right or is post-secondary education simply another useful bullet point on a resume? Is it a signaling mechanism or is it a valuable addition to society?
Edit: I clicked update too fast the first time. I nearly forgot to say. If the primary benefit of post-secondary education is that it provides a useful signal, then it stands to reason that there may be more cost-effective ways of achieving this end.
Comments
In economics a public good is defined as a good that is both non-rivalrous and non-excludable. In other words, a public good is defined as a product or service where the following are True:
- An additional consumer of the product or service does not impact the ability of others to consume
- It is not possible to prevent someone from consuming the good
A good example of a public good is something like national defense.
A bad example of a public good is university education. University education meets neither of the criteria necessary in order to be classified as a public good.
I think that what the author means to say is that there are positive externalities that are associated with the provision of public universities.
While your conceptual waiter with a degree in women's studies is a dubious example of the benefits of education, there is some evidence available that suggests that the availability of education is, in the aggregate, strongly correlated with certain positive societal outcomes.
This is a bit outside of my areas of study, so I am not able to suggest specific readings. However, I can point you in the general direction of a couple of Google scholar search results:
- Education and Crime Reduction: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=education+and+crime
- Education and Macroeconomic Effects: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=education+and+...
Of course, there is also some evidence that strongly calls into question the general purpose of post-secondary education. Is post-secondary education beneficial in its own right or is post-secondary education simply another useful bullet point on a resume? Is it a signaling mechanism or is it a valuable addition to society?
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signalling_(economics) (Yes, I know that this is wikipedia, but it is a nice article.)
Edit: I clicked update too fast the first time. I nearly forgot to say. If the primary benefit of post-secondary education is that it provides a useful signal, then it stands to reason that there may be more cost-effective ways of achieving this end.