> . Granting free universal access to certain things benefits the poor and those with lower incomes, even if it's not particularly beneficial for people with higher incomes. That's a good trade-off in my opinion, and in the opinion of progressive governments.
This is patently, obscenely false.
A value-added economy depends on qualified, skilled labor. If the pool of people with higher education is smaller, you will have less potential to develop industries with that requirement. Training costs will fall on companies (which will be onerous and will not supplant a 4-year degree), and costs for the smaller labor pool go up.
It is in the interests of all developing economies to have talent in their workforce. It's a significant limiting factor in many industries in Latin America.
Oh, no disagreement here. My comment was poorly worded. I meant "even if it didn't particularly benefit", but like you said, it's in the overall best interest of everyone in the country that the majority of the population has access to good quality education. And this is true even if you don't think in terms of the workforce.
With an exception, of course: some people would rather the rest of the people weren't as well educated as themselves. That way they can continue paying them miserably low salaries. It's a self-destructive behavior, but it still happens, because some people don't think long term. I didn't want to address this in my original comment.
This is patently, obscenely false.
A value-added economy depends on qualified, skilled labor. If the pool of people with higher education is smaller, you will have less potential to develop industries with that requirement. Training costs will fall on companies (which will be onerous and will not supplant a 4-year degree), and costs for the smaller labor pool go up.
It is in the interests of all developing economies to have talent in their workforce. It's a significant limiting factor in many industries in Latin America.