Higher Education Financing and Student Support

From the Point of View of the Welfare State

Abstract

　 In 2017, human resource development became an important item on the political agenda and the government decided on a policy package for free child care and education at a total cost of about 2 trillion yen. Human resource development is now a common theme in discussions of welfare states around the world, however there has been little analysis and discussion in Japan of problems and solutions based on data and evidence. The objective of this paper is to discuss education financing and public support at the same time as providing an analysis of issues in the social security system such as pension provisions and health care. The key to overcoming the problem of a falling birthrate and aging population is the allocation of increased resources to human resource development including education by restructuring the existing social insurance schemes. In this regard, there is a need for careful design of a reform plan covering the overall education system, because more public support for education is likely to be regressive.