Effects of education public expenditure on the Cameroonian economy[Effets des dépenses publiques d'éducation sur l'économie camerounaise]

In the current context of preparation of the second phase of Cameroon's long-term development vision, one of the main questions addressed by the public authorities is how to boost economic growth in Cameroon and improve the living conditions of the population. At the global level, education is considered an essential factor of development. To promote education in the economy, the Global Partnership for Education recommends that 20% of public spending be directed to education. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of the implementation of this recommendation on the Cameroonian economy. To achieve this, a dynamic computable general equilibrium model based on the work of Decaluwé and Maisonnave (2010) was constructed based on data from the 2014 Cameroon social accounting matrix and available household survey data at INS-Cameroon. A simulation of a gradual increase in the share of education expenditures in total public spending to 20% is done over nine (09) years. Scenario 1 corresponds to external financing, and the second to financing by reduction of the level of other expenses. The results show a positive impact on student education behaviors, labor market, GDP and household welfare. However, external financing of education produces quite convincing results. At the end of the period, school drop-out and repetition are decreasing and the supply of skilled labor is increasing in the economy. There is an increase in real GDP of 1.2% compared to the reference situation. The welfare of urban households improves by 19.57% while for rural households, the increase is 6.8%. Therefore, a substantial increase in public spending on education as recommended by international agreements could enable the country to achieve these development goals.