1. artificial - The term artifcial demand is used interchangeably with false need, even though the former has likely arisen as a result of the latter.
2. assumption - As a significant portion of English language training is obtained by individuals in the private sector, there is strong reason to believe that the government is unable to provide this training more efficiently. In order to determine whether the government is an efficient provider, it is necessary to determine exactly what the private sector provides. If, for example, the private sector offers English language training very similar to that which the government sector already offers, then the private sector is likely able to provide it better. On the other hand, if the government and the private sector provide complementary training (training and service that are essentially different), then they are not in competition, and in this regard there is no social inefficiency.
3. façade - As the Traditional Chinese Big 5 font with which this page was produced cannot handle non-ASCII characters, the proper spelling for the word has been provided here.
4. relative - Though one should be able to obtain a fairly accurate estimate of the amount of money spent by government at each level of English language competence, obtaining a rate of return that would be comparable with other market assets is unlikely. This is because one cannot know with any degree of precision what proportion of total fixed costs and English language non-specific operational costs devoted to public education should be assigned to English language training. One can, however, assume that these fixed and non-specific operational costs are approximately equal for all levels of English language competence, and thus compare the relative rates of return for each level of achievement.
5. Stegemann, R. A. 1995. English: bridge or barrier? A Socio-economic analysis of the English language in Japan. Monograph (English). Presented at the Ph.D Kenkyûkai Annual Conference and published as a series of articles in the Nestling Times, a newsletter for the Network of European Scientists and Technologists, Japan (NEST).
6. Stegemann, R. A. 2001. English: bridge or barrier? The political economy of the English language in East Asia. Research manuscript (English). Presented at the ILEC 2001 Conference, Hong Kong. Completed in 2002 and submitted for publication.
7. worth - Unlike the general public which acquires English language competence as both a consumption and investment good, government and business acquire it primarily as a productive input that enhances work performance, output, and sales. By probing government and business demand only, the contribution of English language training to the overall productivity of the economy can be assessed. Though economic productivity may not be the sole criterion for teaching English in public schools; one may question the wisdom of making English a universal language requirement, if its direct contribution to the economy is no longer obvious.