Thanks a ton. That is very helpful. I think I understand your point now. (Others in the comments have also said something similar, but I didn’t grasp it until now.)
Let me try to work through it in my own words and apply your insight to my question:
Education contributes to people’s abilities — at least, that’s the idea. It also certifies them. Ability is roughly Gaussian, so tests and teaching should assume that. Which they currently do.
Results, however, depend on many other (possibly overlapping) things, such as
luck;
market structure;
intellectual property rights;
economies of scale;
branding; and
network effects.
For education policy, Pareto results don’t matter. Schools can only affect the input, not the output.
I still think my reform suggestion is good. But I am no longer convinced that Pareto performance implies anything for education education reform. Unless, of course, it turns out that ability does follow a Pareto distribution. But that seems unlikely to me.
Thanks a ton. That is very helpful. I think I understand your point now. (Others in the comments have also said something similar, but I didn’t grasp it until now.)
Let me try to work through it in my own words and apply your insight to my question:
Education contributes to people’s abilities — at least, that’s the idea. It also certifies them. Ability is roughly Gaussian, so tests and teaching should assume that. Which they currently do.
Results, however, depend on many other (possibly overlapping) things, such as
luck;
market structure;
intellectual property rights;
economies of scale;
branding; and
network effects.
For education policy, Pareto results don’t matter. Schools can only affect the input, not the output.
I still think my reform suggestion is good. But I am no longer convinced that Pareto performance implies anything for education education reform. Unless, of course, it turns out that ability does follow a Pareto distribution. But that seems unlikely to me.