What public good is served through state support of higher education?
Higher education is both a public and private good. For individuals, there are great personal and financial benefits to attaining postsecondary education. Societies benefit from having a well-educated citizenry, and the benefits are economic, cultural and civic. As the state seeks its interest, it should try to provide funding that maximizes the public good while expending public funds as efficiently as feasible. An effective system will recognize that leverage is an important tool: private individuals will commit their own resources in pursuit of their own interests, and public dollars can provide incentives for private spending toward public interests. Also, providing too many public resources to individuals who are or should be willing to spend their own resources in pursuit of their own interests is inefficient, whether in higher education or in any other policy area. An effective system must also take into account that individuals have different interests, and are more or less abl
