Stratégie de Lisbonne et niveau de formation. Pourquoi l'ascenseur social ne fonctionne plus en Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles

Abstract

The Lisbon Strategy, adopted by the European Council of March 2000, broadly aimed to « make Europe the most competitive and the most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world », in particular through the upgrading of the level of education of its citizens. We show that the Belgian performances, while still satisfactory until the start of 21st century, have severely deteriorated since, when compared to those of our competitors of OECD and EU. An in-depth examination reveals that this Belgian setback is entirely attributable to the deterioration of the performances of the « French Community ». A thorough analysis of recent developments in the compulsory education system of the French Community reveals major malfunctions leading to an increase of the withdrawals (without final certification) of the secondary education and to a decrease of the proportion (as well as the « quality ») of the new generations gaining access to tertiary education. Finally, considering these developments and additional indicators, questions are raised about the relevance of budgetary priorities in the education sector of the French Community of Belgium.JEL Classification codes : I21, I28