”Running of Education and Technology”
(US) Claudia Gordin Lawrence F. Cat
Jia Yongmin Fu Rui Rong translated
Gezhi Publishing House
Published in March 2023
It is often said that the 20th century is the “century of education”. In fact, human capital has received unprecedented attention, and the valuation has reached a historical high.At the same time, the 20th century was often called the “American Century”.From the perspective of the Nobel Prize winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2023, the 20th century was the occasional accident of the American century and the century of human capital, but an inevitable: one of the characteristics of the 20th century isThe rapid progress of technology, and the United States can increase income, because its average education level is the highest in the world, so it can occupy the best position in entrepreneurial, invention, and service creation.
The book “Education and Technology Run”, which was co -authored by Economist Lawrence F. Cat in the early years, discusses the advantages of how the United States obtains education and how to maintain such an advantage in the future.
Education can make people rational and change the destiny of the country.In the 20th century, the relationship between education and the economy was unprecedented.From an economic point of view, even if the level of national income and education is not a simple causal relationship, it is also a positive correlation, that is, the higher the education level, the higher the income level.Studies have shown that changes in education in the 20th century can explain the changes of 15%of labor productivity. Don’t look at 15%inconspicuous, but this is a major variable.Not to mention, the more role of education is a long -term factor that is subtle, and it is difficult to directly quantify in the short term.
Human capital replacing capital has become the most important component of national wealth, and in the early 20th century, the United States has formed a consensus.In the 21st century, people did not feel novel about this concept, but in the early 20th century, the situation was not the case. The richest country in Europe did not fully understand and accept this view until 50 years later.
At that time, American education concepts and popularity were higher than other countries. It can even be said that the American education system was controversial in the world and was even regarded as heterogeneous.At that time, the American education system did not follow the elite route. Not only did they have successfully popularized elementary education in the 19th century, but also the education of middle school education began in the 1900s.However, in Europe in the same era, education is not open to everyone.For example, at the time, Tao High School had become an important symbol of good education.In most European countries, education is still in the form of selection. Students usually receive various tests around the age of 11 to allow a small number of people with better grades to receive education.Education opportunities to enter middle school are not only difficult to obtain, but also expensive tuition.At that time, “education is an opportunity for elites” was the common sense of most people.In contrast, American education is more popular.In the 1930s, the United States was the only country that popularized free middle school education, and this kind of educational equality was built on equalism.The author pointed out that in the early 20th century, most Americans were no longer limited by their personal status and place of residence in high school. Even residents in remote areas also had the opportunity to send their children into public schools.
Education in the United States can be divided into two parts: the era of growth and stagnation.In the first quarter of the 20th century, the United States was an era of popular high school education. The time for people to educate was increased by 6.2 years, which actually means that middle school education has been popularized.Interestingly, in a quarter of the second century, the increase in education time of Americans was very limited, which also reflected the new inequality trend.Compared with the progress of Europe and Asia during this period, American education has obviously slowed down.
The popularization and improvement of education has kept the US economic growth in developed countries stable and leading, and the economic growth of the United States throughout the 20th century has remained above the average annual level of 3.2%.While the economy has improved, the unequal situation of the United States reflects two very different stages, that is, the decline and then improvement, and the current inequality is almost the same as before.It can be seen that behind the improvement and stagnation of education is actually a story that is equal to inequality.In the first quarter of the 20th century, the level of education in the United States has increased significantly, inequality has decreased significantly, and the return rate of education has gradually declined. Since the 1970s, the gap between the rich and the poor in the United States has expanded sharply, and the return of higher education isRate again.This means that if a low -income person in the United States, he will work after graduating from high school, then he may face the author’s so -called “full loser” situation in the following decades, while the economic elite can earn “”earned a lot”.
Here, the three themes of this book: technical changes, education and inequality relationships are also highlighted.The author believes that there is a complex connection between the three, and it is mainly reflected in a subtle “racing” relationship: in the first quarter of the 20th century, the supply of educated workers has continued to increase, while at the same timeTechnological progress has led to the continued rise in their demand for their enterprises, and as the improvement of education is faster than technological progress, the improvement of actual income is accompanied by inequality.However, in the last 20 years of the 20th century, the situation had reversed, and the inequality phenomenon deteriorated sharply.In other words, technology in the second half of the 20th century ran to the front of education.The author believes that because the skills of technology have not changed much in the 20th century, the sharp deterioration of inequality should be largely attributed to the slowdown of education.At present, American education is under declining, and this resource should be excavated today.
How to change?The authors believe that they should still return to history and make those factors that make American education leading into American education.From the beginning of the data, in the beginning of the 20th century, less than one -tenth of American teenagers were high school graduates. They were inspired by high school education returns, and the proportion of high school students increased rapidly.At present, college students are similar to high school students at that time. Although the economic return of university education is at the highest level in history, the education level of adolescents does not have improved rapidly under the role of strong economic incentives as a hundred years ago.The author believes that there are two reasons: one is that some high school students are not ready to go to college; the other is that many high school students have not received the economic source of higher education.The tuition fees of American universities have risen since 1980, surpassing the growth rate of income from ordinary families, which has led many college students to employment in advance.
What should I do in the policy?The author believes that he can focus on three aspects: first create more opportunities for children in poor families to receive high -quality preschool education; secondly, let more children graduate from high school.Both policies are prepared for high school students to go to college in their studies.Once again, the education financial assistance system becomes generous and transparent, and helps those who have the ability to go to college.
This investment is also cost -effective from the perspective of the long -term development of the country, and can improve inequality and benefit the entire country’s growth.The author believes that the increase in tax revenue brought about by higher productivity and the decrease in public expenditure required to solve social problems should far exceed the fiscal burden caused by increasing educational expenditure in the short term.
The technology is to put the double -edged sword, there are successful people, and there are naturally losers.How to cope with the era challenges of technology, from the perspective of the most mainstream strategies, the biggest help is the education system.If a person has the skills needed by a certain society, and this skill cannot be perfectly replaced at home or abroad, then his employment will have the greatest security guarantee.