Because higher education serves both public and private interests, the way it is conceived and financed is contested politically, appearing in different forms in different societies. What is public and private in education is a political--social construct, subject to various political forces, primarily interpreted through the prism of the state.…

Presents a theory of the relationship between education and the economy that attempts to go beyond those theories that posit either that education is autonomous of the production structure or that stress is a functional correspondence between the nature of education and the workplace. (Editor/CT)

The role of education as an agent for income redistribution in developing countries is discussed. A study of Brazil, Peru, and Mexico indicates that education may not influence income distribution as much as government policies that differentially reward schooling level, work sectors, occupation types, and region of residence. (BC)