Who Should Decide a Child's Education? | Jishnu Das | Development Economist and Professor of Public Policy at Georgetown University | Season 13 Episode 18 | #239

In this episode, I sit down with Jishnu Das, a development economist and professor at Georgetown University, to explore what economics can teach us about education, human behavior, and social policy. We begin by unpacking the economist's way of thinking through "if-then" models and how these frameworks shape debates about college, educational investment, and public policy. Along the way, we discuss why American higher education is unusual compared to much of the world, how economists think about uncertainty and future decision-making, and why education can be understood as a form of insurance against an unpredictable future.The conversation then shifts toward one of the most important questions in education: who should have the authority to make decisions about a child's schooling? Drawing on decades of research in Pakistan and other low-income contexts, Jishnu challenges assumptions about whether poor parents can make informed educational choices. We explore public versus private schools, the role of parental preferences, educational inequality, and the long-standing tension between family authority and state authority. From Martin Luther in the sixteenth century to contemporary school boards, we examine how societies have wrestled with this question for centuries.What stayed with me most was Jishnu's argument that educational progress is ultimately about creating more inclusive and deliberative systems. We discuss Hirschman's concepts of exit and voice, Habermas and deliberative democracy, community institutions such as Panchayats and Seva Mandir, colonial education in India, and the challenge of respecting multiple forms of knowledge. The episode closes with findings from an eighteen-year study tracking 5,000 children across Pakistan and what it reveals about the long-term value of education, migration, earnings, and human opportunity. Chapters:00:00 – Introduction01:27 – Why Economics and Education Need Each Other05:00 – The Power of Economic "If-Then" Thinking11:00 – Why American Higher Education Is So Unusual13:20 – Human Capital Beyond Wages16:05 – Public vs. Private Schools20:10 – Do Poor Parents Know What's Best for Their Children?21:50 – Externalities, Public Goods, and Educational Policy25:00 – Bourdieu, Cultural Capital, and the Limits of Economics26:20 – Uncertainty, Risk, and Education as Insurance29:15 – Tracking 5,000 Children Across Pakistan for 18 Years31:20 – Parents, Schools, and Educational Authority37:00 – Exit, Voice, and Community Accountability41:20 – Deliberative Democracy and Educational Progress46:30 – Seva Mandir, Panchayats, and Local Decision-Making50:10 – Colonial Education and Macaulay's Legacy54:15 – Measuring Educational Success57:00 – Education, Economic Mobility, and Spillover Effects01:00:00 – Migration, Opportunity, and Long-Term Outcomes01:04:00 – Why We May Be Underinvesting in Education01:05:30 – Closing ReflectionsJishnu Das:https://gufaculty360.georgetown.edu/s/contact/0031Q000021vmDOQAY/jishnu-dasBooks & Documents MentionedExit, Voice, and Loyalty — Albert O. HirschmanWeapons of the Weak — James C. ScottMacaulay's Minute on Education (1835)Thinkers ReferencedGary BeckerPierre BourdieuJürgen HabermasAlbert O. HirschmanJames C. ScottMartin LutherThomas Babington Macaulay