Mixed, private, and public educational financing regimes: Economic growth and income inequality effects

Abstract

The issue of mixed educational financing is rarely evoked in the literature, although the financial contribution of parents in the public educational system can be significant. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the mixed system and public and private 'extreme' systems in terms of economic growth and social disparity. For developing countries and for heterogeneous individuals, the mixed system is widely preferred. For homogeneous agents the public and private systems cannot lead to better economic performance than the mixed system. The public system always reduces social inequality, in contrast to the mixed and private systems, which generate the same level of inequality.