Do the Millennium Development Goals Restrict the Provision of Global Public Goods through the Education Sector

Abstract

Education can strengthen or hinder the provision of global public goods including political, environmental and demographic stability. This fact is not explicit in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which largely determine the international development agenda and, for education, focus only on primary education and gender equity. Global public goods are seen in resulting programs, not as education sector objectives, but as fortuitous externalities. Are the MDGs distorting the sector’s ability to achieve global public goods? Are they enhancing their achievement? Or are they largely irrelevant in terms of actual outcomes? This article addresses these questions by analyzing the relationships between education, global public goods and the MDGs, looking also at underlying political and managerial issues. The fi ndings suggest a need to be less concerned about the MDGs and more about these underlying issues.