Economics of education: a conceptual analysis of the foundations and challenges in the age of AI
Abstract
This study was conducted considering the theme of the economics of education and, above all, focusing on a trend such as artificial intelligence (AI). This theme, which in the research is driven by the economics of education, is grounded in the conceptual foundations of the field. Its main objective is to construct an updated diagnosis of the relationships between education, economic growth, and technological transformations. Therefore, the methodology employed was a conceptual analysis that documented and compared studies on the most recognized themes, such as access and equity, quality and learning results, financing, governance, accountability, technology, and digital transformation. Among the conclusions, the most significant was the need for public decision-making in a context of accelerated technological change, fiscal challenges, and growing learning gaps. The report proposes public policy pathways to maximize the social return on investment in education, safeguard equity, and guide responsible AI use. Thus, one of the findings was that, due to inequalities in Latin America and Mexico, gaps still exist in the aforementioned areas, and that, especially given the multidisciplinary nature of the economics of education, it is crucial to conduct research from diverse fields of knowledge.
Downloads
References
Acemoglu, D., & Restrepo, P. (2018). The Race between Man and Machine: Implications of Technology for Growth, Factor Shares, and Employment. American Economic Review, 108(6), 1488–1542. https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20160696
Angrist, J. D., Bettinger, E., & Kremer, M. (2006). Long-Term Educational Consequences of a Randomized School Voucher Program in Colombia. American Economic Review, 96(3), 847-862. https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.96.3.847
Arango, Y., Sosa, A., & Valdés, P. (2022). Equidad en la educación superior: un acercamiento desde la teoría. Revista Estudios del Desarrollo Social: Cuba y América Latina , 10(1), . Epub 01 de abril de 2022. http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2308-01322022000100014&lng=es&tlng=es.
Bolaño, M., & Duarte, N. (2024). Una revisión sistemática del uso de la inteligencia artificial en la educación. Revista Colombiana de Cirugía, vol. 39, núm. 1, pp. 51–63, 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.30944/20117582.2365
Epple, D., Romano, R. E., & Urquiola, M. (2017). School Vouchers: A Survey of the Economics Literature. Review Journal of Economic Literature, 55(2), 441–492. https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jel.20150679
Expósito, D. & González, J. (2017). Sistematización de experiencias como método de investigación. Gaceta Médica Espirituana, 19(2), 10–16. http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1608-89212017000200003&lng=es&tlng=es.
Fuentes, C. (2020). Financiamiento de la educación superior: el panorama mexicano. Revista digital universitaria. RDU 22(5). https://www.revista.unam.mx/2021v22n5/financiamiento_de_la_educacion_superior_el_panorama_mexicano/
Hanushek, E. A., & Woessmann, L. (2015). The Knowledge Capital of Nations: Education and the Economics of Growth. MIT Press. https://hanushek.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/publications/Hanushek%2BWoessmann%202020%20Education_knowledge%20capital_and_economic%20growth.pdf
Ibarra, L., & Mercado, J. (2014). Política educativa en México. Análisis y prospectiva. México: Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos.https://riaa.uaem.mx/xmlui/bitstream/handle/20.500.12055/164/POL%C3%8DTICA%20EDUCATIVA%20.pdf? sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Leyva, S., & Cárdenas, A. (2002). Economía de la educación: capital humano y rendimiento educativo. Análisis Económico, XVII (36), 79-106.https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=41303603
Medina, M. & Ochoa, R. (2025). Innovación Tecnológica y Democracia: Soluciones Descentralizadas y Seguras para Fortalecer la Integridad de las Elecciones. SAPIENS International Multidisciplinary Journal, 2(1), 156–172. https://doi.org/10.71068/acapbh79
Ministerio de educación. (2025). Copago máximo 2025. https://www.comunidadescolar.cl/copago-maximo-2025/
Mungaray, A, Pimienta, R. y Ocegueda, M. (2023). Educación superior, productividad y crecimiento económico en México entre 2004 y 2015. Perfiles latinoamericanos, 29(58), 00014. https://doi.org/10.18504/pl2958-014-2021
Ochoa, E. (2024). La economía de la educación, una perspectiva desde la desigualdad en el futuro de los niños: The economics of education, a perspective from inequality in the future of children. LATAM Revista Latinoamericana De Ciencias Sociales Y Humanidades, 5(5), 3013 – 3022. https://doi.org/10.56712/latam.v5i5.2832
OECD. (2022). PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education. OECD Publishing. https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2023/12/pisa-2022-results-volume-i_76772a36/53f23881-en.pdf
OECD. (2024a). Education at a Glance 2024. OECD Publishing. https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2024/09/education-at-a-glance-2024_5ea68448/c00cad36-en.pdf
OECD. (2024b). OECD Principles on Artificial Intelligence. OECD Publishing. https://oecd.ai/en/ai-principles
OMS. (2020). coronavirus (COVID-19). https://www.who.int/es/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1
Pritchett, L. (2013). The Rebirth of Education: Schooling Ain't Learning. Center for Global Development. https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/rebirth-of-education-brief-lant-pritchett.pdf
Torres, P., y Cobo, J. (2017). Tecnología educativa y su papel en el logro de los fines de la educación.Educere,21(68),31-40. https://www.redalyc.org/comocitar.oa?id=35652744004
UNESCO. (2023a). Guidance for generative AI in education and research. UNESCO Publishing. https://cdn.table.media/assets/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/386693eng.pdf
UNESCO. (2023b). Global Education Monitoring Report, 2023: Technology in education: A tool on whose terms? UNESCO Publishing. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000385723/PDF/385723eng.pdf.multi
University of Toronto. (2025). Differentiating between Primary and Secondary Sources. https://guides.library.utoronto.ca/c.php?g=250552&p=1671086#:~:text=Ejemplos%20de%20fuentes%20primarias,-%C2%BFCu%C3%A1les%20son%20algunos&text=Peri%C3%B3dicos%2C%20revistas%2C%20literatura%2C%20canciones,programas%20de%20televisi%C3%B3n%20y%20radio.&text=Cartas%2C%20testamentos%2C%20diarios%2C%20contratos,certificados%20de%20nacimiento%20y%20defunci%C3%B3n.
Valencia, M., (2005). El capital humano, otro activo de su empresa. Entramado , 1 (2), 20-33. https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=265420471004
World Bank. (2024). The State of Global Learning Poverty: 2022 Update. World Bank Publications. https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/e52f55322528903b27f1b7e61238e416-0200022022/original/Learning-poverty-report-2022-06-21-final-V7-0-conferenceEdition.pdf
World Bank & UNESCO. (2024). Education Finance Watch 2024. World Bank Publications. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstreams/b5d1c588-d8b4-4c7b-9256-e745f4765989/download
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
In order to promote the development and dissemination of research in education in Latin America, the Ibero-American Journal for Educational Research and Development (RIDE) adhered to the Budapest Open Access Initiative, which is why it is identified as a Open access publication. This means that any user can read the complete text of the articles, print them, download them, copy them, link them, distribute them and use the contents for other purposes. Creative Cummons licenses allow users to specify the rights to use an open access journal available on the Internet in such a way that users know the rules of publication. Authors who publish in this journal accept the following conditions: Authors they keep the author's rights and give the magazine the right of the first publication, with the work registered with the attribution license of Creative Commons, which allows third parties to use the published material whenever they mention the authorship of the work and the first publication in this The authors can make other independent and additional contractual agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the version of the article published in this journal (eg, include it in an institutional repository or publish it in a book) as long as they clearly indicate that The work was published for the first time in this magazine. Authors are allowed and recommended to publish their work. low on the Internet (for example on institutional or personal pages) before and during the review and publication process, as it can lead to productive exchanges and to a greater and faster dissemination of the published work
