Public Policies on Economic Education: What Can We Learn from the European Union Best Practices?

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to analyse the public policies in the area of economic education in the European Union, with the aim to identify the best practices that exist in different countries, to point out the major phases in the development of public policy in this domain and the main factors that contribute to the positive results. The core assumption is that the wealth of countries is often associated with the individual level of economic education of their citizens, as individuals that possess basic economic knowledge contribute positively to the increase of their household wealth, which further has a positive impact on a nation-wide level in general. Furthermore, we analyse the evolution of public policy in the field of economic education with a focus on the wealthiest countries in the European Union in terms of the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. The institutional framework of economic education provides the basis for individuals to acquire basic economic knowledge in a well-defined setup with the involvement of actors belonging mainly to the public sector. We will also investigate whether the design of public policies in the range of economic education should also take into account actors from the private sector or whether their involvement should only be considered at a later stage, as an additional tool to the basic economic concepts taught in schools.