Why does government provide educational opportunities in the form of vouchers, private subsidies, and public provision?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Education generates external benefits. With a better educated population, everyone is better off. The more educated the population, the more productive it is. Educated individuals need less social services than uneducated individuals. Crime rates are lower the more educated the population. And a more educated population makes it more likely to provide other goods with external benefits, such as high quality newspapers. But because part of the social benefit from education is an external benefit, an unregulated market will create less than the efficient amount of education. Hence government policies such as vouchers, subsidies, and public provision are attempts to overcome inefficiency and move the market to the efficient amount of education.