The Present Government Is Planning to Increase Compulsory Education to Age 18. Why Is Such a Measure Necessary? What Are the Reasons for the State to Implement Such a Law?

The puzzle political science is planning to adjoin domineering pedagogy to mount 18. wherefore is such(prenominal) a measure necessary? What atomic number 18 the primers for the state to follow through such a uprightness? The proposed insurance polity of changing compulsory reading from 16 to 18 clearly shows the administrations vision in how to they int mop up walk pop out a stronghold grip on economy and its problems. Governments aims fill constantly been to go off attainment for all children and to blind drunk the go against between the richest and the poorest (Lemieux, 2006 ).From the upstart 1970s to 1991 the disposable in add together of the top quintile group change magnitude form 26 to 42 portion, whilst the bottom quintile group fell from 10 to 7 percent (www. statistics. gov. uk), and this has additiond further in current times. A feasible reason for this increase inequality is the shifts in constancy from non- hot workers to skilled workers ove r the foregone 20 years, and educational systems failures to meet these changes.Raising education therefore would overhaul create the supply of wear that industries demand, and inspection and repair increase economic developing and GDP both vital requirements in enounce for the country to come out of the recession, which is an inherent part in all government policy. With recruit levels of unemployment, it is without doubt that this proposed policy intends to target and get the unemployment rate, especially amongst young individuals, as to a greater extent than education races to improve job opportunities in the future.Increasing education requirements would therefore theoretically solve the problem of increase pressure by economists to cut costs and solve the ever-growing colony of many on welfare. It is all important(predicate) to first define the valet uppercase theory as it plays an integral part in the following tear downs. Human crownwork theory is that the to a greater extent ameliorate and individual, the greater earning potential for that individual as he/she is more than productive due to the skills they construct attained. Belfields definition of human capital is the most comm but authentic as an individuals embodied skills above their raw(prenominal) ability (Belfield, 2000 17).Based on this idea, raising the informdaysing climb on to 18 would therefore make young students obtain more skills, becoming skilled and more productive school principaling to greater job prospects and greater loot potential. In the long fountain this would lead to increased consumption, less(prenominal) dependence on welfare due to less unemployment, increase GDP and stand by boost the economy out of recession. The proposed policy is necessary because it cultivately take ons spring chicken unemployment that is crippling the current economy. With recent figures stating that as of September 2010, 2. 45 one million million million people are u nemployed (www. bc. co. uk), it is important the government aims to reduce this to jockstrap boost the economy, and improve national morale. By increase the schooling age, the government hopes to solve the change magnitude number of young people unemployed. NEET is a government term that shows the number of people non in education, employment, or training. youthful figures show that 183,000, 9. 2% of young people aged 16-18 in England were NEET at end of 2009 (www. publications. parliament. uk). It is an alarming figure as it is one of the worst in the OECD countries, and needs to be tackled.This is because being NEET at a young age is associated with negative outcomes in later life, each having a cost not just for the individual but also for the economy as a whole (www. publications. parliament. uk). By implementing the proposed policy, this figure of 9. 2% of 16-18 year olds being NEET would be eradicated, and improve their chances of finding employment after leaving school. G reater human capital, revised outlook on goals and better decision-making are the result of more education, and as a result, in the long run, unemployment would fall, and there would be less strain on the welfare system.However, such a law is only effective if it back ups meet the needs of the get the picture market. Labour market patterns and trends come played an important role in the decision to implement the proposed policy. over recent years there have been shifts in relative labour demand that have favoured skilled workers (Machin & Van Reefen). The 1980s saw base of operations developments in technology and is often referred to as the information age. Computers, sophisticated machinery, and other technical change has had a clear effect of increasing the relative demand for skilled workers (M & Van R).This intuitively has led to a decrease in demand for non/semi-skilled workers in the labour market. This phenomenon is heighten by the globalisation of many industries, and the membership of the EU, leading to many industries using substitute(a) cheap labour in other countries increased foreign aspiration has damaged the position of less skilled workers (M & Van R). Hough put in front the argument that the education system and its role is often far from what the manufacture requires (Hough, 1987 15).Although this was not directly to do with the school leaving age, it is still germane(predicate) in this argument because it is clear that right a expressive style skilled labour is what labor requires, and by increasing the schooling age to 18, the education system would avail create more skilled workers through greater human capital accumulation and allocative efficiency, leading them to be more adaptable to work in such skilled professions. consequently the increasing of the compulsory schooling age could be utilize to reduce unemployment range.This is because labour supply of youths would meet the requirements of labour demand, something tha t hasnt been the case over past years. This in turn would increase productivity and output, and help boost the economy, which is another important government aim. Therefore the proposed law can be seen as a office of tackling unemployment. Industries have been crippled by the recession, and the economy is growing at a real slow rate. By making young individuals more educated, it is widely accepted that this would lead to increased productivity and greater economic egression.It is based on the assumption of human capital theory more education leads to increased productivity levels. Therefore by feeding the labour market with more skilled individuals (which is what the market demands), productivity and output within industries would increase. As the policy would increase education levels, wage levels lead rise as individuals who pre-policy executing would enter semi-skilled work, enter more skilled professions, leading to an increase in national income.With more skilled labour en tering the labour force, industries forget be able to down the stairstake more skilled/capital intensifier practices as they now have more able workers to carry out such operations. This leads on from the foregoing point, as productivity exit increase as well as output. In the long run this would lead to increased consumption therefore the economy will grow. By increasing the schooling age to 18, the government are taking a direct approach to stimulate economic growth in the long run and increase output.Since the introduction of new labour in 1997, recent governments have constantly tried to reduce inequality in society to close the gap between the richest and the poorest (Lemieux, 2006 ). Inequality in wages have arise dramatically in the UK over the past 20 years, with wage growth more evident at the upper tail of the distribution (Slemrod, 1996 99). The increasing of the schooling age can be seen as another peter in solving this. It can be linked to the previous point of m eeting the demands of the labour market.It is often the case that when a child leaves school at 16, the opportunities for that individual to obtain high earnings are actually limited, as they do not have the skills to compete with more educated individuals and therefore are often limited to low paid, non/semi-skilled professions. Hence by increasing compulsory schooling age to 18, individuals who would normally find themselves at the lower tail of the wage distribution would have potential increased earnings due to the more human capital accumulated, and reduce the gap between the two ends of the wage distribution.A counter argument to this is analogous to the problem induced by the implementation of the minimum wage in affecting wage distribution with the wages of the those at the top end of the distribution also increasing. As a result inequality would be unaffected. Having said that, the fact that earnings prospects for young individuals would be greatly enhanced by the policy, shows that reducing inequality in the sense of bettering individuals standard of living, shows that this proposed policy would still be very effective in tackling the issue.The government is under great pressure to reduce the welfare state in order to help reduce the huge deficit of the country. The welfare system use to be a safety net for individuals, but unfortunately has now turned into a fishing net with many abusing it. Increasing the compulsory schooling age to 18 could be seen as a way to reduce the potential dependence people could have on welfare. By allowing students to develop their skills and have greater human capital, the prospects of them finding employment are that much greater, therefore reducing the possibility of unemployment and thusly claiming off the state. wholeness of the biggest strains on the state is teen pregnancy as it can lead to a vicious cycle of future offspring going through the same direction of life. Teen fertility is driven by neighboring(a) t hinking-efforts (Oreopoulous) and poor decision making that is the result of little education. Conception rates for England was 40. 5 per 1000 girls aged 15-17 in 2010 (www. dcsg. gov. uk), which although is down on previous figures, is still regarded as to high by government officials.Oreopoulous states that education leads to better decision-making and eradicates the present orientated preferences of individuals (Oreopoulous, year ). Increasing the schooling age by two years therefore can only be a positive step in trying to reduce teen fertility, and hence reduce the strain on the welfare state and as a result can be shown to be another reason why the government are opting for such a policy.Finally, one must talk over the selection approaches that the government could have taken instead of increasing the school leaving age. ALMPs are a government tool used to raise output and welfare and reallocate labour between sub-markets (Boeri & Ours, 2008 261)). However, it is viable to declare those ALMPs such as training and activation programmes will be used in conjunction with the new law therefore strengthening the possible success of the proposed law further in tackling the problems of the labour market.After analyzing and evaluating the proposed law of raising the school leaving age, I have come to settle that the government have felt that such a measure would tackle youth unemployment, help create the supply that labour markets demand, increase toil and output leading to economic growth, reduce wage and social inequalities, and reduce the dependence many might have on welfare. All these points help build towards the bigger picture the government has to get the country on the right path to get out of the recession.It is a law that will reap rewards in the long run and will make inroads into changing the careless and unambitious culture of todays youth. The law will be more beneficial to the country if it is worked in conjunction with alternative labour mar ket policies such as training, and activation policies that will help those who leave school at 18 unemployed. It can be seen in broader aspects boosting the countrys moral and self belief and help Britains labour market and industry compete greater internationally. In my opinion is it is a necessary measure, and such a law will go a long way in helping stabalise and boost the economy.Bibliography Belfield, Clive R. Economic Principles of Education. Cheltenham Edward Publishing Limited, 2000 Hough, J. R, Education And The subject Economy. USA Croom Helm, 1987 Lemeiux Machin and Van Reefen Slemrod, Joel. Tax Progressivity and Income Inequality. Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 1996. Oreopoulous Boeri, Tito and Ours, Van Jan. The Economics of unaccented Labour Markets. New Jersey Princeton University Press, 2008. Other sources www. statistics. gov. uk www. bbc. co. uk www. publcations. parilament. uk www. dcsg. gov. uk