Does Education Matter?: Myths About Education and Economic Growth (Penguin Business) [Mass Market Paperback]

'A withering critique of governmental and business attempts to support vocational education ... in the name of the nation's economic progress'

'I can see Estelle Morris spluttering into her latte'

'One of the bravest, most interesting and most valuable books about economic policy to have appeared of late'

"Education, education, education" has become an obsession for politicians and the public alike. It is seen as an economic panacea: an engine for growth and prosperity. But is there a link between increased spending on higher eductaion and economicgrowth? Professor Alison Wolf takes a critical look at successive governments' education policy and challenges many of the tenets of received wisdom: there are no economic reasons for spending more on higher education in order to stimulate growth. The conclusion of this devastating book is that a large proportion of the billions poured into vocational training and university provision might be better spent on teaching the basics at primary school.

Alison Wolf is Chair of Education at the Institute of Education in London and Programme Director at the Centre for the Economics of Education. She lives in Dulwich, London.