Education and social mobility

Arbeitspapier

This paper shows that the design of education policy involves a potential conflict between welfare and social mobility. We consider a setting in which social mobility is maximized under the least elitist public education system, whereas welfare maximization calls for the most elitist system. We show that when private education is available, the degree of elitism that maximizes social mobility increases, while the welfare-maximizing degree of elitism decreases. The ranking between the welfare- and mobility-maximizing degree of elitism may even be reversed. Utilitarian welfare is always higher when private supplementary education is available, but social mobility may be reduced.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: CESifo Working Paper ; No. 2951

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; National Government Expenditures and Education ; Education: Government Policy
• Subject: elitism ; egalitarianism ; private education ; Privatschule ; Elite ; Bildungsverhalten ; Soziale Mobilität ; Theorie

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Cremer, Helmuth ; De Donder, Philippe ; Pestieau, Pierre
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo)
• (where): Munich
• (when): 2010

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/30734
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET