This article gives an overview of concepts, methods, questions and research results of the economics of education with regard to three key issues: human capital research, internal efficiency and financing of education. It outlines the investment character of education, methods and results of return estimates, as well as the contribution of the economics of education to the investigation of the conditional factors of school performance and to the normative foundation of financial decisions in education.

Keywords
economics of education, human capital research, internal efficiency, financing of education