Efficiency of public expenditure on education: comparing Croatia with other NMS

Ahec Šonje, Amina and Deskar-Škrbić, Milan and Šonje, Velimir (2018): Efficiency of public expenditure on education: comparing Croatia with other NMS. Published in: INTED2018 Conference Proceedings (7 March 2018): pp. 2317-2326.

Abstract

Modern economies are becoming more knowledge-intensive and service-oriented, which makes human capital more important than ever for mid-term and long-term growth. Therefore, education, the main channel of governments’ influence on human capital formation, became important research subject in the field of economic growth. This paper examines efficiency of public expenditure on secondary and tertiary education in the New Member States (NMS) in EU ; only efficient government spending can generate adequate returns in terms of contribution to economic growth. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is applied to assess relative technical efficiency of public expenditure on secondary and tertiary education in NMS, with a particular focus on Croatia. Input variables are public expenditure on education per student and as % of total education expenditure, while output variables for secondary education are PISA results and for tertiary education share of unemployed with a tertiary education and Shanghai ranking of leading national universities. The results show high inefficiency of public spending on education in Croatia.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Education, technical efficiency, public expenditure on education, Data Envelopment Analysis, New Member States EU
• Subjects: C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C6 - Mathematical Methods ; Programming Models ; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling > C61 - Optimization Techniques ; Programming Models ; Dynamic Analysis; H - Public Economics > H5 - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies > H52 - Government Expenditures and Education; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions > I25 - Education and Economic Development; I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education and Research Institutions > I28 - Government Policy

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