Abstract
School textbooks have been significant components of educational systems since the nineteenth century. Traditionally, in most countries the supply of school textbooks has been funded by the state. However, in recent years the role of publishers has become dominant within this area and this has affected the level of prices, often leading to the formation of worldwide oligopoly dynamics. In turn, school textbook supply costs are born either by the state or citizens directly or indirectly. In this paper we explore the evolution of the production and distribution system of school textbooks in several European countries and briefly compare dynamics and outcomes generated by different educational systems. We particularly explore the case of the Greek system based on collected data and we estimate/compare cost results under the general assumption of adopting mainstream European school textbook supply models. To this purpose we outline and use an abstract model relying on simulation methods.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
References
Anderson, B. (2006). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. London: Verso.
Ball, S. J., Vincent, C., & Kemp, S. (2004). “Un agréable mélange d’enfants…”: Prise en charge de la petite enfance, mixité sociale et classes moyennes [“A nice mix of children …”: Support for early childhood, social diversity and middle classes]. Education et sociétés, 2(14), 13–31.
Ball, S. J., & Youdell, D. (2008). Hidden privatization in public education. London: Education International, Institute of Education.
Cooney/Carey. (2006). School books in Ireland: Costs to parents (pdf). Accessed March 2, 2015, from http://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Education-Reports/School-Books-in-Ireland-Cost-to-Parents.pdf
Denison, S. R. (1984). Choice in education. London: Hobart Paperback.
Emmet, B. (2006). In the public interest health, education and water and sanitation for all. Oxford: Oxfam.
GAO Report. (2005). College textbooks: Enhanced offerings appear to drive recent price increases (pdf). Accessed March 10, 2015 from http://www.gao.gov/new.items/do5806.pdf
Gibbons, S., & Silva, O. (2006). Competition and accessibility in school markets: Empirical analysis using boundary discontinuities. In T. J. Gronberg & D. W. Jansen (Eds.), Improving school accountability: Check‐ups or choice. Advances in applied microeconomics (pp. 157–184, Ch. 14). Oxford: Elsevier.
Glennerster, H. (1995). British social policy since 1945. Oxford: Blackwell.
Harris, L. (2004). Enquête auprès des Enseignants, des Parents d’ Eleves, et des Maires (Survey of Teachers, Parents of Pupils, and Mayors), Savoir Livre.
Hayek, F. A. (1998). Law, legislation and liberty (Vol. 3). London: Routledge.
Koch, V. J. (2006). ACSFA college textbook cost study plan proposal: An economic analysis of textbook pricing and textbook markets. Washington, DC: Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, U.S. Department of Education.
Krugman, P., & Wells, R. (2009). Microeconomics. New York: Worth Publishers.
Le Grand, J. (1982). The strategy of equality. London: Allen and Unwin.
Mueller, D. (1989). Public choice II. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
The State PIRGs. (2005). Ripoff 101: How the current Practices of the Publishing Industry Drive up the Cost of College Textbooks. California Student Public Interest Research Group (pdf). Accessed March 11, 2015, from http://www.immagic.com/eLibrary/ARCHIVES/GENERAL/ST_PIRGS/050201 F.pdf
Timmins, N. (1995). The five giants. London: Harper Collins.
West, E. G. (1970). Education and the state: A study in political economy. London: Institute of Economic Affairs.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this paper
Cite this paper
Manolopoulos, C., Roniotes, C., Eustathiadou, R., Sofotassios, D. (2016). The Evolution of School Textbook Supply Systems: Cost, Supply Procedures and State Policies. In: Bilgin, M., Danis, H. (eds) Entrepreneurship, Business and Economics - Vol. 2. Eurasian Studies in Business and Economics, vol 3/2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27573-4_25
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27573-4_25
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-27572-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-27573-4
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)