Book:
The Cost of Not Educating the World’s Poor: The new economics of learning
Understanding the Global Stakes of Educational Neglect
The book explores a simple but often overlooked truth: failing to provide quality education to the world’s poorest children has wide-reaching costs—not just for those children, but for the entire global community.
Rather than framing education solely as a moral obligation or development goal, The Cost of Not Educating the World’s Poor examines it through an economic, social, and geopolitical lens. The book brings together evidence from multiple disciplines—development economics, public finance, demography, and global security—to estimate what is lost when large segments of the world’s population are denied basic learning opportunities.
It investigates questions such as:
- How does lack of education limit economic growth—not only in low-income countries, but globally?
- What role does education play in shaping health outcomes, fertility patterns, and population trends?
- How does underinvestment in education contribute to instability, forced migration, and international insecurity?
- What are the fiscal trade-offs governments face, and what would it cost to ensure universal access to basic education?
The book also considers the intergenerational effects of education, the opportunity costs of inaction, and how systemic barriers—from weak institutions to donor fatigue—undermine global efforts. While grounded in research and data, the analysis is accessible to non-specialist readers interested in how global interdependence shapes their own futures.
Ultimately, this is not a book about charity or aid—it’s about shared interests in a more stable, prosperous, and equitable world. The message is straightforward: when millions are left without education, everyone loses.
Videos
Essential economics for uncertain times
At the request of many non-academic friends, I’ve made videos to explain economic concepts that are emerging as central to the global world and the U.S.