This article examines the dominant view of the changing relationship between education, jobs and rewards in the global knowledge economy. This asserts that the developed economies can resolve issues of individual aspirations, economic efficiency and social justice through the creation of a high-skills, high-wage "magnet" economy. Here the authors examine four of the key dimensions of this account and argue that while there has been a fundamental change in the relationship between education, economy and society, their conclusions are far removed from the assumptions that currently inform public and policy debates. (Contains 3 tables, 4 figures and 29 notes.)