Bribed to stay at school

[English assassin]

It's just a Pigouvian subsidy. Perfectly rational behaviour in response to a positive externality

This is EXACTLY what I was going to say. Look, I thought to myself, there goes one of those pigouvian subsidies again.

(Seriously though every now and again amongst the dross you learn something new here, don't you?)

Anyway Your Highness I think you are in a minority of one , although the conservative in me would demand (only partly to annoy JAG) that we review the scheme to see how much staying on rates have risen and relate that to the net cost of the scheme (net because EMA may well simply replace a benefit you would have paid if they had left school anyway), and also have a look at the cost of running the means testing.

But I don't seriously expect the scheme to show anything other than a good return on the investment.

[BDC]

BDC I have no sympathy for the case you outline, if someone has a morgage they do not need help, soon they will own property and be a fully paid up member of the middle classes. These systems should benefit those only who really need it and - funnily enough - drop out most.

Jag you know well enough that property is so staggeringly expensive here that even on a top professional's salary it will take decades to fulfil a mortgage, so is completely out of the timescale of children in school.

And it comes in too late for people who are going to drop out anyway. By 16 you can see clearly who is going to go on and do well academically and who isn't, ever, whatever the incentives.