Does Higher Government Spending Buy Better Results in Education and Health Care?

25 Pages Posted: 10 Feb 2006

See all articles by Sanjeev Gupta

Sanjeev Gupta

International Monetary Fund (IMF) - Fiscal Affairs Department

Marijn Verhoeven

International Monetary Fund (IMF) - Fiscal Affairs Department

Erwin R. Tiongson

Georgetown University - Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS); Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA); University College London - CReAM - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration; Asian Institute of Management

Date Written: February 1999

Abstract

There is little empirical evidence to support the claim that public spending improves education and health indicators. This paper uses cross-sectional data for 50 developing and transition countries to show that expenditure allocations within the two social sectors improve both access to and attainment in schools and reduce mortality rates for infants and children. The size and efficiency of these allocations are important for promoting equity and furthering second-generation reforms.

Keywords: public expenditure, primary and secondary education, primary health care, intrasectoral spending compostion, social indicators

JEL Classification: I12, I18, I21, I31

Suggested Citation

Gupta, Sanjeev and Verhoeven, Marijn and Tiongson, Erwin R., Does Higher Government Spending Buy Better Results in Education and Health Care? (February 1999). IMF Working Paper No. 99/21, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=880548

Sanjeev Gupta (Contact Author)

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

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

Marijn Verhoeven

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

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

Erwin R. Tiongson

Georgetown University - Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) ( email )

Washington, DC 20057
United States

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

University College London - CReAM - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration ( email )

Drayton House
30 Gordon Street
London, WC1H 0AX
United Kingdom

Asian Institute of Management ( email )

123 Paseo de Roxas
Makati, 1260
Philippines

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

Paper statistics

Downloads
1,383
Abstract Views
5,638
Rank
26,317
PlumX Metrics