"Research on the economics of education increasingly influences the design of education policy. The framework for the analysis is provided by human capital theory, in which education is interpreted as an investment, raising the future productivity of the individual and bringing other private and social benefits. Estimates of the private and social returns to education, and of the effectiveness of schools and teachers, can be used to guide the allocation of resources within the public sector; in addition, policy reforms in the UK have attempted to make public providers of education more responsive to the preferences of parents and students. There is evidence that pupil attainment has risen in recent years, but that the education system fails to provide equality of access or opportunity and may reinforce social and economic inequality."

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