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

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  • Ahec Šonje, Amina
  • Deskar-Škrbić, Milan
  • Šonje, Velimir

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahec Šonje, Amina & Deskar-Škrbić, Milan & Šonje, Velimir, 2018. "Efficiency of public expenditure on education: comparing Croatia with other NMS," MPRA Paper 85152, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 10 Feb 2018.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:85152
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    Cited by:

    1. Camanho, Ana S. & Stumbriene, Dovile & Barbosa, Flávia & Jakaitiene, Audrone, 2023. "The assessment of performance trends and convergence in education and training systems of European countries," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 305(1), pages 356-372.
    2. Lena Malesevic Perovic & Maja Mihaljevic Kosor, 2020. "The Efficiency of Universities in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 22(54), pages 516-516, April.
    3. Kristina Stefanova & Nikolay Velichkov, 2020. "Analysis of the Efficiency of Tertiary Education Expenditure in European Union Member States from Central and Eastern Europe: An Efficiency Frontier Approach," South-Eastern Europe Journal of Economics, Association of Economic Universities of South and Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Region, vol. 18(1), pages 115-128.
    4. Ozana Nadoveza Jelic & Margareta Gardijan Kedzo, 2018. "Efficiency vs effectiveness: an analysis of tertiary education across Europe," Public Sector Economics, Institute of Public Finance, vol. 42(4), pages 381-414.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education; technical efficiency; public expenditure on education; Data Envelopment Analysis; New Member States EU;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C61 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Optimization Techniques; Programming Models; Dynamic Analysis
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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