Education: how to Better Target Public Spending[Éducation: comment mieux orienter la dépense publique]

ith nearly €180 billion allocated in 2022, education represents one of the largest components of public expenditure in France. Nevertheless, the outcomes of the education system remain misaligned with this significant financial commitment: student performance—particularly in mathematics—is deteriorating, and social inequalities are among the most pronounced across OECD countries. Furthermore, a sustained decline in student enrolment due to demographic change creates a window of opportunity to reconsider the allocation and strategic use of educational resources. This Note examines public education spending through the lens of a new indicator—the Marginal Value of Public Funds (MVPF)—which assesses the net social return of each euro invested. Far from replacing democratic deliberation, this tool is intended to inform budgetary decisions by comparing education policies in terms of both their costs and their impacts on beneficiaries' well-being. The analysis is structured around four main pillars: classroom and curriculum organization, the development of student skills, teacher training and support, and the strengthening of school-family engagement. For each policy lever, the Note draws on robust empirical evidence from France and comparable contexts, and applies the Marginal Value of Public Funds (MVPF) to compare their cost-benefit profiles. Several education policies are identified as self-financing: by enhancing student competencies, they lead over time to higher wages and, in turn, increased tax revenues that more than offset their cost to public finances. Notable examples include class size reduction at the primary level, tutoring, adaptive digital learning tools in mathematics, targeted interventions to strengthen socio-emotional skills, intensive formats of continuing teacher training, pedagogical inspections, and initiatives that foster parental involvement. In contrast, the public return on spending is very low—or even negligible—for grade repetition, sporadic and poorly targeted teacher training, and investments in computer equipment. Far from being a fiscal burden, education spending emerges as one of the most effective uses of public funds. However, returns vary significantly across policy measures, highlighting the need to target resources toward interventions whose effectiveness is robustly demonstrated—both to enhance student learning outcomes and to reduce inequalities. In light of the trade-offs imposed by fiscal constraints and demographic decline, the approach proposed here provides a coherent and strategic framework. This framework should be further strengthened through large-scale experimentation, investment in data infrastructure, and improved cost measurement.