A public good is something that must be provided in the same amount to all consumers if it is provided at all. No-one can be prevented from consuming the good once it’s provided. Non-rival: the amount used does not reduce the amount available for someone else. Non-optional: no-one can reject the good.
Not everyone is able to get a college education. Not everyone can pass college to get a degree. Anyone can choose not to go college. Then how is higher education a public good?
Higher education is public good in the sense by which the actions done by the people who have a higher education affect everyone in some way or another. What a person chooses to do with their college education is up to them and cannot be rejected by society. The human capital theory states that "that HE contributes by adding to the potential productivity of graduate employees." Therefore, because of the possible productivity, society cannot reject, make less of, and/or avoid it.
Works Cited
- Baum, Sandy, and Michael McPherson. "Post Navigation." Innovations Is Education a Public Good or a Private Good Comments. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 18 Jan. 2011. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.
- Rospigliosi, Asher Pericles, Sue Greener, Tom Bourner, and Maura Sheehan. "Human Capital or Signalling, Unpacking the Graduate Premium." Flipping the Script in Higher Education. ProQuest, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.