Free Education: For Whom, Where and When?

This article analyzes the effect of free public education on fertility, private educational investments and human capital accumulation at different stages of economic development. The model shows that when fertility is endogenous parental human capital levels are crucial for implications of free education. At early stages of development, if parental human capital is low, free access to basic education may provide the only chance to leave poverty. In contrast, at advanced stages of development, if parental human capital is high, the availability of free education crowds out private educational investments, increases fertility and may be detrimental for growth.