Roles of Education and Health in Economic

Development
Introduction:
- Education is the fundamental to enhancing the
quality of human life and ensuring social and
economic progress.
- Education is the Key to creating, adapting and
spreading knowledge… but the gain in access to
education have been unevenly distributed, with
the poor seldom getting fair share.
The central roles of Education and Health:
- Education and Health are the basic objectives of
Development; they are important end in themselves.
- Both are fundamental to the broader notion of expanded
human capabilities that lie at the heart of the meaning of
development.
Education
 It plays a key role in the ability of a developing country to
absorb modern technology and to develop the capacity
for self sustaining growth and development.
Health
 It is a pre – requisite for increases in productivity.
 A state of complete physical, mental, and social well being
and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.
 Education and Health as a Joint Investment for
Development
- Health and Education are closely related in
Economic Development. on the other hand, both
Health and education may improve the return to
investment.
Health Capital
 It is an important factor in the formal learning
process.
 Better health at any point during work life may in
effect lower the rate of depreciation.
Education Capital
 Economic activities may rely on the basic kills
often learned at school, including basic literacy
and numeracy.
 It is also needed for the improvement in the
productive efficiency from investment raises the
return on a lifesaving investment.
Investing in Education and Health:
The Human Capital Approach
Introduction:
- The analysis of investment in health and education
is unified in the human capital approach.
Human Capital Approach
 It is the term in economics often use for
education, health and other human capacities that
can raise productivity when increased
 An analogy is made to conventional investment in
“Physical Investment.
 - The impact of Human Capital investment in
developing countries can be quite substantial.
 Higher level of education start full time work at a
later stage but their income quickly outpace
those who working earlier.
 Income gains from education must be compared
with the total cost incurred to understand human
value as a capital investment.
Education Cost
 It includes direct and indirect tuition or other
expenditures while in school.
 Dilemma in Education and Health
1. Child Labor
 It is a widespread problem in developing
countries.
 When children under age 14 work, their labor
time disrupt their schooling and in a majority of
case prevents them from attending school
altogether.
 Compounding this, the health of that children
workers is significantly worse, subject to cruel
and exploitative working condition.
2. Educational Gender Gap
 It is the greatest problem in the poor countries
and regionally in the middle east and North Africa.
 In recent years, 66 out of 108 countries, women’s
enrolment in primary and secondary school
education was lower than that of men by at least
10 percent point.
Why female education is important?
 There is now an empirical evidence that
educational discrimination against women hinders
economic development in addition to reinforcing
social inequality.
 Key Plank of Millennium Development Goals, Economically
desirable for 4 reasons
a. The rate of return on women’s education I higher than
that on men’s in the mot developing countries.
b. Increasing women’s education not only increases their
productivity on the farm and in the factory but also
results in greater labor force participation, later marriage,
lower fertility and greatly improved child health and
Nutrition.
c. Improved child health and nutrition more educated
mothers lead to multiplier effect on the quality of a
nation’s human resources for many generation to come
d. Significant improvement in their role and status via
education can have an important impact on breaking the
vicious cycle of poverty and inadequate schooling.
3. Gender Bias in Heath and Education
- Studies from around the developing world
consistently show that expansion of basic
education of girls earns among the very highest
rates of return of any investment
Reason for discrimination against girl in education
• Very Costly from the stand point of achieving
economic development goals.
• One of the cost effective means of improving local
health standards.
• Inferior education and health care access show the
interlinked nature of economic incentive and the
cultural settings.
 Educational System and Development
- Much of the literature and public discussion about
education and economic development in general
and education and employment in particular,
revolves around two fundamental economic process;
a. Interaction between economically motivated
demands and politically responsive supplies in
determining how many school places are provided.
b. Important distinction between social and private
benefit and cost of different levels of education and
the implication of these differentials for education
investment strategy .
What is Social Cost of Education?
 The opportunity cost to society as a whole
resulting from the need to finance costly
education expansion at a higher level.
What is Private Cost of Education?
 The opportunity cost of education to those borne
by the student themselves.
Education, Inequality and Poverty
- Recent studies have also demonstrated that contrary to
what might have been assumed, the educational
system of many developing nations sometime act to
increase rather than to decrease income inequalities.
There are 2 fundamental economic reasons
a. Higher opportunity cost of labor to poor families
means that even if the first few years of education are
free, typically children need to work on family farms
at the same time a they are required to be at school.
b. Expected benefits of primary education are lower for
poor students. Means, the higher cot of education
and lower expected benefits from it causes poor
family’ rate of return from education investment.
Health System and Development
a. Measurement and Distribution
- Earlier in the chapter, it follows the standard
practice by measuring health with infant survival
rates and specifically with life expectancy.
- The latter measure has the advantage that is
available for mot of the countries.
What is Infant Survival Rate?
 It measures of general health status of the
population beyond early childhood who survive
early deprivations suffer lifetime health
consequences.
What is Life Expectancy?
 It provide extended years of vitality in one country
while providing only additional years of extremely
poor health or suffering in another.
Alternative measure of health
- Promoted by the Who Health Organization (WHO),
an alternative measures of health is the “DALY”
What is DALY?
 It a word stands for “Disability Adjusted Life Year.
 Which calculated about one quarter of the global
burden of disease was represented by diarrhea,
childhood diseases including measles, respiratory
What is Disease Burden?
 It is the impact of a health problem as measured
by financial cost, mortality, morbidity, or other
indicators.
Health System Policy
 According to WHO, it is defined as the over all
activities whose primary purpose is to promote,
restore or maintain health.
Components of Health System
• Public Health Department
• Hospitals and clinics
• Offices of Doctors and Paramedic
Seatwork:
1. What reasons would you give for rather
sizable school dropout rates in developing
countries?
2. What might be done to lower these rates?
3. How would you explain the facts the
relative costs and returns to higher
education are so much in Least Developing
Countries than developed countries?