Over the last few years we’ve seen a number of stories cropping up from all over the world of governments – both local and national – paying students to attend school. These programs have covered elementary, secondary, and tertiary schooling, and are proliferating. Currently there are a number of counties and cities in the US that are experimenting with this approach to falling grades and attendance. Abroad, cultures and countries as diverse as China, Qatar, and the UK have all promoted adoption of this aspect of pay for progress.

There is a strong correlation between levels of education and economic performance of a country (see chart below), and this will continue to strengthen as progress is continually redefined along the upper right quadrant of the axes of knowledge and services. Paying for academic performance and participation is an indication of two seemingly opposed forces. Firstly, there is the globalizing prejudice towards market solutions. The current economic downturn will slow this, but only temporarily. Secondly, there is an internal state planning or management calculus at work that incorporates education into the basic managed components – like health care or military service – of a nation’s or community’s place in the world.

More broadly, we will continue to see increasing experimentation with economic-oriented solutions to social and civic concerns. These experiments are likely to be driven by two strong forces: 1) a recognition that economic motivation works, often where social and community pressure fails, and 2) as the market continues to exert influence on transparency and equity, a desire for an appreciable, quantifiable, and demonstrable return on investment.