The New Limits of Education Policy: Avoiding a Tragedy of the Commons

Using a political economy framework to analyze the current problems facing US post-secondary education, The New Limits of Education Policy tackles the questions surrounding the future of higher education. This study provides an explanation as to why improvement of teaching and learning is not a high priority for the stakeholders involved. Roger Benjamin explains why heightened recognition by the State of the importance of human capital in the knowledge economy will create the external conditions that will, in turn, create the need for an altered incentive system for these stakeholders. He goes on to make a case for additional positive incentives that would reward behavior that improves teaching and learning. The political economy framework used here suggests that post-secondary education is a common pool problem (CPP) that may soon become a permanent crisis - a tragedy of the commons. The popular consensus that the post-secondary education sector, the venue for enhancing human capital, is not doing a good enough job is now combined with the prospect of continued rising costs and declining resources for colleges and universities. Anticipating a national debate about the CPP, Roger Benjamin emphasizes the need for evidence-based decision making to assist leaders in improving quality and reducing costs. The New Limits of Education Policy is an eye-opening, critical read for anyone with a vested interest in the future of higher education, including policy makers, administrators, and students and scholars of economics and public policy.