Education and Health in G7 Countries: Achieving Better Outcomes with Less Spending

52 Pages Posted: 28 Nov 2007

See all articles by Marijn Verhoeven

Marijn Verhoeven

International Monetary Fund (IMF) - Fiscal Affairs Department

Victoria Gunnarsson

International Monetary Fund (IMF) - Fiscal Affairs Department

Stéphane Carcillo

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Sciences Po; IZA

Date Written: November 2007

Abstract

Enhancing the efficiency of education and health spending is a key policy challenge in G7 countries. The paper assesses this efficiency and seeks to establish a link between differences in efficiency across countries and policy and institutional factors. The findings suggest that reforms aimed at increasing efficiency need to take into account the nature and causes of inefficiencies. Inefficiencies in G7 countries mostly reflect lack of cost effectiveness in acquiring real resources, such as teachers and pharmaceuticals. We also find that high wage spending is associated with lower efficiency. In addition, lowering student-teacher ratios is associated with reduced efficiency in the education sector, while immunizations and doctors' consultations coincide with higher efficiency in the health sector. Greater autonomy for schools seems to raise efficiency in secondary education.

Keywords: Education, Health care, Wages, Public sector, Government expenditures

Suggested Citation

Verhoeven, Marijn and Gunnarsson, Victoria and Carcillo, Stephane, Education and Health in G7 Countries: Achieving Better Outcomes with Less Spending (November 2007). IMF Working Paper No. 07/263, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1033217

Marijn Verhoeven (Contact Author)

International Monetary Fund (IMF) - Fiscal Affairs Department ( email )

700 19th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20431
United States

Victoria Gunnarsson

International Monetary Fund (IMF) - Fiscal Affairs Department ( email )

700 19th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20431
United States

Stephane Carcillo

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ( email )

2 rue Andre Pascal
Paris Cedex 16, 75775
France

Sciences Po ( email )

28 rue des Saints peres
Paris, 75007
France

IZA ( email )

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
337
Abstract Views
1,585
Rank
163,454
PlumX Metrics