It is common in times of restraint for governments to look for areas to reduce expenditure and balance budgets. Policymaking in most Western countries over the past two decades has been strongly influenced by expenditure reduction strategies as a means of rendering the public sector more efficient as well as reducing its size. In addition, “small” government has become a mantra in contexts where free market economics has been adopted as the guiding economic ideology. Such an approach to policymaking views expenditure as a cost, a balanced budget as evidence of prudent financial management, and the reduced size of government as a public good. It has not been uncommon in many countries for educational expenditure to be reduced in recent times or for private sources of funding to replace previously public funded education. This paper will argue that recent developments in theories of economic growth suggest that such a strategy is likely to be counterproductive. What is more, the identification of the role education can play in economic policy is not inconsistent with broader social policy objectives. To achieve both sets of objectives, education needs to be seen as an investment rather than a cost. It not only adds value to human capital, as suggested in traditional human capital theory, but it also contributes directly to economic growth by producing new knowledge and innovation that fuels technological change. Without such change, “new economies” will neither develop nor grow. The conditions under which education can contribute to economic growth in the “new economy” will also be explored in this paper since education needs to be accompanied by appropriate external conditions. There is no a consensus concerning these conditions among economists, but from an educational perspective, teachers, the school curriculum and the structure of the education system itself are important areas to consider. Each of these will be reviewed in light of the potential role they can play

學校以公營還是私營為主，是世界性的長期爭論的問題。本文以近年出現的“新公共行政”、“市場為本的公共行政”及“企業化政府”等公共行政觀點為背景，考察香港政府直資學校制度的沿革和發展趨勢，探討與之相關的“教育公平”問題，指出半私營學校制度對保證教育公平、資源合理分配及市場競爭機制都有現實價值。
[Copyright © 2003廣東省社會科學界聯合會.]

「學校發展津貼」(Capacity Enhancement Grant, CEG) 的出配，是與教育改善息息相關的。在早期的文件中，該津貼有一個冗長的名字，稱為「為教師創造空間而提供的額外撥款」(教育署，2000a)，最能反映該撥款的意圖，是為教育改革創造條件。因此，這筆款項的運用情況及其轉變趨勢，與教育改革是否成本是分不開的。本研究的目的，是藉實證研究初步檢視本港中小學在該津貼發放第一年如何使用該津貼，以及在經過差不多一年的實踐之後，考慮是否及如何改變款項用途。

The discussion of market in education is controversial and often value-laden. This paper aims at exploring the attempts made by the government of Hong Kong to develop a vibrant private sector in school education through the Direct Subsidy Scheme. The scheme allows participating schools to draw funds both from tuition fees and government subsidy on the one hand and promises greater freedom in school operation on the other. This paper will discuss how the scheme was first coined and its significant development. Attention will be paid to how the development of the scheme may have affected the landscape of school education in Hong Kong. Focus will be placed on how it may have an impact on equality of education, class, social mobility and the nature of education. It is hoped that this will become a case to help the reflections on the complexities relating to introducing market to education.
[Copyright © 2006 Biblioteca Virtuală ASE.]