Markets, Collectivities and Management

abstract abstract This article examines the mechanisms by which a society decides upon how much education it requires, what is to be provided, who is to provide it and to whom. It proposes a framework which defines four ideal types of allocative mechanisms and most of the article discusses these and their approximations in social life. It is argued that it is the interrelationships of these allocative mechanisms which shape the production and distribution of educational resources in what is a mixed economy. Debates juxtaposing the 'market' against some alternatives are seen as over‐simplistic. Instead, what is required is the more complex resolution of the balance (s) to be struck between the variety of means by which education services are produced and allocated in our society.