Gradstein, Mark, & Justman, Moshe
Researchers: Mark GradsteinMoshe Justman
University Affiliation: Ben-Gurion University
Email: grade@bgu.ac.il
Research Question:
Examines the relation between social cohesion, education, and growth. This paper focuses on the role of state schooling in reducing transaction costs by shrinking the "social distance" between individuals in the economy.
Published: 1
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: The American Economic Review
Journal Entry: Vol. 92, No. 4, pp. 1192-1204
Year: 2002
Findings:
- Under complete social exclusion, individuals might be constrained to deal only with members of their own group, in which case there would be no incentive for cultural convergence and children would fully retain their parents’ cultural identities.
- The optimal trajectory involves more rapid reciprocal convergence of social orientations towards the middle ground.
- Reforms should take into account their impact on the socializing role of education, in addition to their effect on scholastic achievement.
- Prospective gains from improved scholastic performance must be weighted against losses from increased social fragmentation.