Public education's domestic and international economic impacts

How Public Goods Provided by Public Institutions Impact Society Domestically and Internationally The government for the benefit of citizens usually produces public goods—collectively paid for and consumed products and serves designed to contribute to quality of life, public health, and safety. Most public goods are also considered to be domestic public goods, although some—such as providing for national defense—can have an international impact. Many public goods are frequently taken for granted because they are ubiquitous in wealthy and industrialized economies such as transportation infrastructure, sanitation services, and public education. Clean air and water, wastewater management, policing, and national defense are also public goods that are provided by public institutions. Education, environmental protection, and national defense are three of the most important public goods in American society.
Public education may be considered as a mixed good since it is a public good and also a private good when an individual opts to attend a private school. Whereas some countries provide higher education as a public good, most do not. The education of K-12 is considered a public good; however higher education is a private good in the United States. The consumption of education does not take away from another, unlike higher education is excludable since someone may be excluded if they do not pay tuition. Education of K-12 is compulsory and unavoidable since it mandates in all states that a child is required to attend either a public or private school. Nonetheless, whether it is K-12 public good or higher education private good, both produce a strong economy that everyone benefits from. The impact of education domestically is that it helps curb poverty, better jobs, economic growth, sustainability, and justice. With proper education, it helps reduce poverty by having students to graduate high school to have a job. Education impacts domestically and internationally as the driver of economic progress and the country’s prosperity. Because of the way education can prepare students to thrive in the global marketplace, in some ways public education can be considered to have an impact on the international as well as the domestic economy. Education also helps to create a better sustainable future through innovative solutions to help cities, communities in the formation of efficient energy, clean air, clean water, and sanitation.
Globally, by focusing on sustainability, public environmental goods help to address many domestic and international issues such as climate change. Education, along with public goods such as regular water and air testing, and preventing pollution via the management of public lands, enables economies to adopt new techniques. Public goods can therefore also include methods of conservation that help to improve key factors like food production and which also improve global food production and food security. Public education can set an example in awareness of energy and sustainable technologies. Education helps to create awareness and to educate about restoration, preservation of ecosystems, land degradation, biodiversity loss, etc., which impacts domestic bay areas and the planet as a whole. By having education that is either K-12 or education that is free and accessible about social political or environmental issues; people become aware and take action to help their state, nation, other countries in need and as well the planet as a whole. Education whether it is basic or university studies is both the precursor to peace and an advancing civil society. With education, more and more people are becoming aware of their civil rights and helping other by protecting and creating awareness of injustices.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency upholds the Clean Air Act. Although breathing air is free and cannot be excluded; clean air, the air quality is an important good that is important domestically and internationally. Air pollution is a great global environmental problem that has many effects on health and as well the environment. The protection of air pollution, climate change and ozone depletion is crucial. Without clean air there would be many exacerbated respiratory conditions in children and the elderly. Many individuals would have suffered from lung disease due to airborne pollution (Ross, Chmiel & Ferkol, 2012). Air pollution and green house gases attribute to climate change thus everyone in the planet is also affected if there is no regulation however, with incentives and sustainability technologies to help mitigate its effects domestically as well as its impact internationally.
National defense is a public good that is mainly enjoyed domestically, but which has a tremendous impact on global affairs. Interventionist military policies directly impact the global balance of power, foreign relations, and diplomatic relationships between countries. Our country’s national defense protects us not just from war, invasion or terrorist attacks but they also have played a role in helping in disaster response. The army corps of engineers plays an important role in maintaining critical infrastructure. The army medical research has helped to protect citizens from epidemics. In terms of internationally, the U.S. military and national security protects other countries as well, which is another reason why national defense has both domestic and international applications as a public good.
The demand and supply of a public good can be difficult to measure. Typically, goods are produced and sold in units, and firms figure out how much of the unit sold and how much of the given unit to produce. Regular surveys and population data such as the census do help the government to recognize trends in supply and demand and forecast future needs. Public goods are sometimes indivisible goods that cannot be sold and measured in terms of consumption. The demand and supply of public goods can also be influenced by external factors, such as the price and availability of natural resources and commodities. Domestic and international instability or conflict can also affect the demand for public goods. For example, a wartime scenario increases the demand for national security whereas increases in crime rates leads to increased demand for policing services. When a population grows, it is naturally expected that the demand for all public goods would also grow.
Positive externalities are spillover benefits that a third party benefits from. The supply and demand for positive externalities may be controlled through regulation. Negative externalities have the opposite effect of positive externalities. Negative externalities may end up imposing costs on society. Regulations and fines to deter its effects, i.e., pollution taxes, must control the supply and demand for negative externalities.
The demand and supply of public goods are also influenced by environmental factors. Environmental issues such as climate change, pollution, deforestation, etc., affect the demand and supply of a public good. Natural disasters can increase demand for many types of public goods, such as rebuilding infrastructure or de-contaminating a water supply. At the same time, natural disasters can impact the supply side of public goods when those goods become scarce or costly. Environmental issues affect the supply and demand for clean air, clean water, etc. However, a natural disaster may increase the demand and supply of floods systems, disaster response system and national defense interventions to address environmental issues.
The demand and supply of public goods are influenced by economic factors. Under a prosperous and thriving economy, the demand and supply of a public good increase. There are sufficient funds to help public goods or even create new public goods. However, in economic turmoil, the supply of a public good decline since there aren’t sufficient resources to be allocated. An example is funding for public schools. Public schools are impacted when the economy is in bad shape. Often, schools experience budget cuts in school supplies, teachers’ wages, teachers being laid off, extracurricular programs, music, and art classes do not have the funds to sustain a full classroom. Other economic factors include inflation rates, interest rates, and exchange rates which impact how much of a public good could be available to the public, how much of a public good could be sustained and how much of a positive externality that serves as a public good, may continue its spillover effects. Also, if the economy is unstable and a public good such as clean air is to be sustained by imposed pollution taxes, this may cause further harm to the economy. This will decrease the supply of clean air since it would create a problem with manufacturers unable to pay higher taxes, thus leading to unemployment and loss of international trade. Tax laws have a strong impact on public goods, too, as government agencies and lawmakers can either opt for increased regulation or deregulation to enable the private sector to take over what was previously deemed a public good. Privatization can have beneficial or deleterious effects, depending on how well it is managed. A great number of public goods ideally remain truly public to prevent their being controlled by special interests, leading to oligarchy.
The demand and supply of public goods are influenced by political factors. Political factors such as voting for propositions determine how much the state’s resources will be allocated to fund the public good. Even voting political candidates becomes a factor towards public goods. Many candidates have political goals that serve as public goods. Voting for a candidate that will help improve society and produce public goods would increase demand and supply of the good discussed. However, if the candidate’s agenda is not focused as much in public goods, then the demand and supply of certain public goods would decrease. Hyman (2014) states that politics determine who gets the support from the government, thus “the theory of public choice demonstrates how the political process is used to determine the quantity of goods and services that are supplied by the government” (p. 161). Marketing, including the marketing involved in public health campaigns or in raising awareness about specific issues, influences voter attitudes and beliefs and can have a huge impact on the perception of need (or lack thereof) for public goods. Rhetoric can cause the voters to demand heavier police presence or more support for public defense, or can lead voters to support welfare initiatives, education, public health, or social services.
Arrow’s impossibility theorem pertains to the inherent irrationality and stochastic nature of human decision-making on the collective scale (Morreau, 2019, p. 1). The theorem postulates, “it is impossible to devise a voting rule that meets a set of conditions that can guarantee a unique political equilibrium for a public choice” (Hyman, 2014, p. 174). In other words, it is impossible to find a voting method that meets fairness criteria, or to determine best or ideal outcomes for the populace. Arrow’s theorem has a direct impact on public administration and the production of public goods because of the way it showcases the difficulties inherent in the democratic process. Nevertheless, there is a way to make social decisions through the political process. When given a voting rule that produces unique public choices then the individual’s preferences may be constructed as social preferences (Hyman, 2014). In pluralistic and heterogeneous societies, it becomes extremely difficult for individuals to see their preferences at the polling booth manifest in public policies that matter to them. Arrow’s impossibility theorem points out weaknesses in the democratic system of voting, and may help to explain why election outcomes frequently mystify voters.

References Feldman, A. M., & Serrano, R. (2008). Arrow's Impossibility Theorem: Two Simple Single-Profile Versions. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.896742 Hyman, D. N. (2014). Public finance: A contemporary application of theory to policy (11th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. Morreau, M. (2019). Arrow’s theorem. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/arrows-theorem/ Ross, K., Chmiel, J. F., & Ferkol, T. (2012). The impact of the Clean Air Act. The Journal of pediatrics, 161(5), 781-6. Yamineva, Y., & Romppanen, S. (2017). Is law failing to address air pollution? Reflections on international and EU developments. Review of European, comparative & international environmental law, 26(3), 189-200.