Lazy Uncaring Parents, Finland’S World-Class Education System, And Teach For America

Public education matters greatly not only for equity — i.e. the income gap between the haves and have-nots, or how fairly the pie is divided up among the citizens of a country — but also for economic growth — i.e. how fast the size of the pie grows over time. The larger the pie, the more there is to be divided up between all citizens. Imagine two countries which are identical in every respect except the skill and knowledge level of their workers. For example, suppose in one country, all workers know their ABCs and 123s while only half the workers do in the other country. Needless to say, the country where all workers are literate and numerate will be far richer than the country where only half the workers are. More generally, human capital — i.e. the skills and knowledge of the workforce — matters at least as much as, and probably more, much more than, physical capital — i.e. factories, machines, and roads — in determining a country’s living standards. For example, Germany and Japan were reduced to rubble at the end of the Second World War, but were able to rebuild their economies quickly due to high levels of human capital. The biggest contribution of the government to any economy, rich or poor, is to provide high-quality public education…