Education Finance

Education Finance : It's How, Not Simply How Much, That Counts

 

The precise relationship between spending and learning outcomes in education is unknown, which leads some researchers and policy makers to question whether the amount of spending in education matters at all (Hanushek 1986). Among countries with similar levels of income, those that spend more on education do not necessarily score higher on international assessments such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Even within an education system, student achievement varies among localities that spend comparable amounts (Wag staff and Wang 2011). The observation that learning outcomes are seemingly unrelated to spending levels supports the argument that how money is spent, not simply how much, matters in education finance. Education spending represents the point at which monetary resources begin to promote learning outcomes. National, subnational, and local governments; the private sector; and sometimes even international actors may spend money on public education. Fiscal control mechanisms are crucial for understanding education finance systems; they are used to plan, monitor, and execute a country's education budget. If resources are not used for their intended purpose, it is unlikely that education services will be of adequate quality.

Citation

“Vegas, Emiliana; Coffin, Chelsea. 2012. Education Finance : It's How, Not Simply How Much, That Counts. World Bank, Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/10056 License: CC BY 3.0 Unported.”

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