Many academicians, politicians, and educators strongly believe that knowledge, organized in school curricula and transmitted through school systems, contributes to the economic strength of nations. How valid is this claim?

Gradstein and Nikitin document the vast expansion of schooling over the past several decades, as well as convergence in schooling measures across countries. They make the observation that poor countries today have higher average education levels than countries at the same level of economic development had in the past. They propose a simple model that suggests that these trends can be attributed to the intertemporal expansion of the world technological frontier, which enhances the demand for schooling. Their empirical analysis supports the view that educational expansion has occurred because of the increase in demand, especially in open economies, and not because of cost-reducing improvements in the education sector.This paper - a product of Public Services, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to study education expansion.

The relationship between resources devoted to education and the economy of developing nations is explored. The research seeks to understand if and how investment in education translates into increased economic growth and labor productivity. Additionally, the function of education in reducing various dimensions of economic inequality is examined. The two East African nations that are the study's focus, Kenya and Tanzania, have similar levels of income, but they differ markedly in their public policy toward the provision of secondary education and thus in the educational attainment of the labor force. The research findings provide strong backing for the human capital paradigm: educational expansion is shown to raise labor productivity. The results also show that making education less scarce diminishes inequality in access to education and in income. Numerous figures and tables of data appear throughout this volume; a list of 170 references is included. (DB)

Global science education is a reality at the end of the 20th century - albeit an uneven reality - because of tremendous technological and economic pressures. Unfortunately, this reality is rarely examined in the light of what interests the everyday lives of ordinary people rather than the lives of political and economic elites. The purpose of this book is to offer insightful and thought-provoking commentary on both realities. The tacit question throughout the book is `Whose interests are being served by current science education practices and policies?' The various chapters offer critical analysis from the perspectives of culture, economics, epistemology, equity, gender, language, and religion in an effort to promote a reflective science education that takes place within, rather than taking over, the important cultural lives of people. The target audience for the book includes graduate students in education, science education and education policy professors, policy and government officials involved with education.

Since the 1980s, the world has experienced an unprecedented push towards economic, political, social, cultural, financial and technological integration. This integration is a key element of the process of globalization. Much of this revolves around the tensions and conflicts inherent in globalization with emphasis on political economy but at the expense of the human factor (HF), which places people at the centre of all discussions about globalization. This volume brings the HF into the debate and examines to what extent this hitherto marginalized concept holds the key to providing a holistic understanding and contestation of globalization. The volume develops a distinct concept or framework of the human factor; examines the role and significance in global change from an interdisciplinary perspective; analyzes the extent and significance in contemporary globalization discourse; and provokes further debate about the unresolved disputes surrounding globalization. The account will help readers navigate the 'minefields' of the globalization debate.