HKIER

摘要

政府在教育發展中應該發揮怎樣的作用？本文從經濟學和教育財政學的角度分析了政府干預教育的理由、方式與效果。結果顯示：政府與市場各有其行動邊界。政府干預教育的理據，主要規限在提供公共物品、維護社會公平和校正市場失靈這些範圍內。在這些範圍以外，政府應避免干預，留下空間，讓市場作出調節和發揮其促進效率的功能。各國發展的實踐研究表明，政府在教育發展上因角色錯位導致對教育「干預過多」或「干預不夠」的現象比比皆是，尤以發展中國家為甚。究竟政府應在哪些領域內及何種情況下「退出」干預，或「進入」以承擔應負的責任？這些都是急需探索的教育發展研究課題。就中國內地的教育而言，政府角色轉換還有很長一段路要走。

Abstract

What is the role of government/state in the development of education? This article analyzes the justification, strategy and impact of government intervention on education from the perspectives of economics and finance of education. The analysis shows that there is an intersecting boundary between government intervention and market operation. Government intervention should be limited to the provision of public goods, the protection of equality, and the adjustment for market failures. Outside these boundaries, government should refrain from intervention and allow market forces to operate and exert their positive effects on efficiency. A study of education development in various countries reveals that in most cases, government has exerted either too much or not enough intervention in education, especially in developing countries. In which areas and under what conditions a government should “retreat” or “enter” are important and urgent research topics in education development. In the case of Mainland China, the change in the role of government in education still has a long way to go.