Debunking the Education Myth

In this editorial, Alison Wolf challenges the idea - the myth - that improving education systems will subsequently improve economic development and prosperity.

"We are told that in a “knowledge economy”, a country needs ever more graduates and formal qualifications to stay competitive. But education simply does not deliver economic growth the way our politicians – and businessmen – believe: more education in does not mean more growth out. Worse, the education policies that follow from current beliefs have serious negative consequences for opportunities for young people and the quality of education itself.

...Employers naturally tend to hire the most educated workers on offer, and so as the number of graduates increase, so does the number of “graduate” jobs. However, every study I know of – whether British, Scandinavian, or American – agrees that large numbers of these “graduate” jobs require no more than they did when non-graduates performed them perfectly well. In this sense, many societies are already “over-educated.

But perhaps this is irrelevant. Maybe better-educated workers do their jobs more efficiently, in which case we will surely find a clear relationship between educational attainment and economic growth.

Alas, no. A few recently industrialised countries have pursued successful government-driven education strategies that seem to boost economic development. But for every such case – South Korea is the favourite example – there is another, like Hong Kong, where meteoric economic growth had nothing to do with centrally planned education policy. Instead, parents pushed their children towards the best schools to give them an individual head start – something parents do the world over – only after they got richer."

Wolf goes on to explain that this phenomena doesn't affect only developing countries. "Switzerland has been one of the richest countries in the world for a century – and not because of its natural resources. Yet it has the lowest rate of university attendance in Western Europe."

She concludes her editorial by asking the question "is [improving education systems] really the best route to a vibrant economy and a civilised, cultured and open society?"

Alison Wolf is Professor of Management and Professional Development, King’s College London, and author of "Does Education Matter? Myths about education and economic growth".