Government Education Expenditure Research Articles

IMF Conditionality and Government Education Spending: The Case of 10 MENA Countries

This study explores the impact of International Monetary Fund (IMF)-linked conditionality on government education expenditures in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Understanding the impact of conditional lending by international financial institutions on education spending is important due to the pivotal role education plays in fostering social and economic development. We use country-level panel data encompassing a representative set of 10 MENA countries from 1990 to 2020 and employ a cross-national fixed effects regression model. Our findings suggest that IMF conditionality demonstrates a positive relationship with government education expenditures in the MENA region. The proposed explanation is that the application of IMF policy advice can have a catalytic effect on donor financing, including for education. This indicates that the Fund’s financing arrangements in the region can free up fiscal space for social spending, which, in turn, signals a sort of departure of the IMF from the reputation that typically precedes it—its traditional bias for macroeconomic stability irrespective of social costs. We argue that our findings are instructive for policy, especially if one shares the idea that education is a necessary prerequisite for achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: guaranteeing inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting enduring learning opportunities for all.

Economic freedom and the quality of education

AbstractThis paper finds robust evidence that economic freedom improves the quality of education. This is probably mainly because economic freedom incentivizes parents to invest in high‐quality education for their children and helps them to do so. It also incentivizes and helps both governments and private providers to deliver high‐quality education. The paper uses two different indicators of educational quality: PISA scores and the World Bank's harmonized test scores. The magnitudes of the estimated effects of economic freedom on both indicators are substantial. They are even larger once the indirect impact of economic freedom via GDP per capita and, to a lesser extent, once the indirect impact via government education expenditure is taken into account. The paper uses data on up to 49 countries for PISA scores and up to 137 countries for World Bank scores. It accounts for the endogeneity of economic freedom and controls for all major determinants of educational quality.

External Financial Flows, Fiscal Policy and Human Development Index in Nigeria

The sustainable development goals that were rolled out and adjusted from the un-attainment of Millennium development goals of 2015, lacks a notable financial option and channel that would help developing countries like Nigeria to achieve goal 3, goal 4 and goal 8, which this study captured with the human development index. This study examines the effect of external financial flows, fiscal policy and human development index in Nigeria. The used the secondary data that was collected from World development indicators and Central bank of Statistical Bulletin. The period was between 1991 to 2022 bot year inclusive. The external financial flows was captured with foreign direct investment, foreign aid, remittances, net exports, external debt while fiscal policy was captured with government expenditure for education and government expenditure for health. The findings from the external financial flows revealed that foreign direct investment and remittances have a negative significant effect on human development index while net export have a positive significant human development index. The fiscal policy measures revealed that government expenditure on education have a positive significant effect on human development index while government expenditure on health have a negative significant effect on health. The Nigerian government should focus on policies that boost export sectors, especially those that add significant value to raw materials. This can be achieved through subsidies, tax incentives, and investment in infrastructure. The Nigerian government should allocate a larger portion of the national budget to education. This increase in funding should aim to address infrastructural deficits, enhance teacher training, and provide adequate learning materials. Implement robust mechanisms to ensure that health funds are used efficiently and transparently.

The Nexus Between Government Secondary Education Expenditure and Quality of Education in Nigeria

The decline in the educational system in Nigeria has been a burning subject of research over the years due to its essence in National development. This study examined the Nigerian government education expenditure in comparison with selected countries in Africa, the quality of education in the country and explored the relationship between the government secondary education expenditure and the quality of education at that tier of education system. Data for the study was collated majorly from the World Bank database and official documents of relevant government agencies. The data analysis showed that Nigeria recorded the lowest figure in government education expenditure across all the years under study (2010-2018) except in 2012 when it recorded 8.55% ahead of Seychelles at 6.77%. Nigeria's all-time high was in 2015 (9.26%) and the all-time low was in 2018 (5.94%). Nigeria recorded a high secondary school enrollment rate in 2013 of 56.21% and a corresponding government education expenditure of 8.68%, followed by a decline in enrollment (10.59%) in 2014 despite an increased expenditure of 0.36% over the previous year. The analysis also found a relationship (r=0.61) between government education expenditure and secondary school enrollment. The study among other recommendations suggests that the Nigerian government should prioritize education during budget allocation to improve the quality of education at all levels.

The Impact of E-Government on the New Generation Productive Capacities: Evidence from Cross-Country Data

The New Generation Productive Capacity Index (PCI) and the E-Government Development Index (EGDI) are increasingly used in various economies. Therefore, can e-government contribute to the continuous development of the new generation of productive capacity? Focusing on this important issue, this paper systematically examines the mechanism of the impact of e-government on the new generation of productive capacity and tests it using relevant data from major global economies. Firstly, this paper conducts regression analysis using the panel fixed-effects model, and the results show that e-government has a positive facilitating effect on the new generation of productive capacity. Secondly, the development of e-government will directly reduce the time, procedural, and monetary costs for enterprises and individuals to obtain government services, thereby promoting the development of production capacity. Finally, the specific changes in the structure of social expenditures are that government education expenditures and general expenditures will increase, but total government expenditures and household expenditures will not be affected by the construction of e-government. The research contribution of this paper is mainly reflected in the following three aspects: first, in terms of research perspectives, this paper extends the research on e-government’s ability to improve the efficiency of governments and organizations in handling affairs and its impact on the productive capacity of a society. Second, it contributes to the theory on the topic of e-government. This paper proposes a general equilibrium model to reveal the impact of e-government construction on a government and the public, and to more comprehensively reveal the impact mechanism of e-government construction in the whole economy. Third, this paper contributes empirical evidence. This paper utilizes the data of the major economies around the world to reveal the mutual influence between the construction of e-government and the new generation of productive capacity, and then effectively proves the specific impact of e-government on governments, enterprises, and individuals through the test of cost mechanism and financial mechanism. Different from the existing literature, this paper focuses on the impact of e-government on the new generation of productive capacity, revealing that e-government construction does not increase the financial burden on governments but reduces the burden on firms and individuals, thus providing new insights into the productivity effects of e-government development.

Regional climate risks and government education expenditure: evidence from China

Faced with the impact of climate risks, what responses do local governments make, particularly in the domain of social public policy? This study uses provincial panel data from China from 2009 to 2020 to investigate how climate risks affect local government education expenditure and its mechanisms. Analysis using spatial econometric models reveals the following. First, local climate risks significantly increase government education expenditure. This conclusion remains consistent across different proxy variables, model specifications, and estimation methods. Additionally, there is a spatial dependency on local government education expenditure, meaning that educational spending in neighboring areas positively influences the education expenditure of a specific location. Second, further mechanism analysis shows that climate risks lead to credit easing and drive the digital economic transformation of a location, thereby increasing its education expenditure. Third, considering the heterogeneity in the spatial dimension, it is found that this positive impetus exists only in the economically more developed eastern region. This study provides insights into understanding how the Chinese government responds to the impact of climate risks and its fiscal policy choices.

Are Public Investment and Education Expenditures Productive in the Argentine Case? A FMOLS and DOLS Analysis, 1960-2019

This paper examines whether public investment spending and public education expenditures (a proxy for human capital) in Argentina have a positive and significant effect on economic output and labor productivity for the 1960-2019 period. The paper estimates a simple model that incorporates the impact of public and private investment spending, education expenditures (including at the secondary level), and the labor force. It presents a modified empirical counterpart to the simple model and tests for unit roots and performs both a Johansen cointegration test and a Gregory and Hansen cointegration test with an endogenously determined regime shift. FMOLS and DOLS long-run estimates for the 1960-2019 period suggest that public and private investment spending, government education expenditures, and the labor force have a positive and significant effect on the level of economic output and labor productivity. For comparison purposes, both methodologies are used because these estimators are extremely consistent, particularly the DOLS estimator, even in the presence of both endogeneity and serial correlation of any order. The concluding section summarizes the major results and discusses potential avenues for future research on this important topic.

Impact of Selected Factors on International Trade of Bangladesh: An Empirical Analysis

International trade is a vital driver of economic development for nations worldwide, and Bangladesh, as a developing country in South Asia, strategically utilizes trade as a key element in its economic growth agenda. This paper examines the impact of internal factors on Bangladesh's international trade, employing Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis to analyze data spanning from 2000 to 2022. The study focuses on factors such as GDP, inflation, real interest rates, unemployment rates, government expenditure, population growth, remittance inflows, government expenditure in education, macroeconomic management, and tariff rates. The results reveal a strong statistical significance between the predictors and Bangladesh's international trade volume. Notably, personal remittances, government expenditure in education, and macroeconomic management index exhibit significant influence on international trade. The findings provide valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders to enhance Bangladesh's trade performance, contributing to its sustainable economic development.

Relationship Between World Happiness Index, Hoefstede Cultural Dimensions And Government Education Spending

The author analyzes the interplay between the World Happiness Index and a nuanced array of seven variables in this research. Specifically, the focus extends to the Hofstede Cultural Dimensions, encompassing six distinct facets and the financial allocations dedicated to government education spending. The author starts with a literature survey on the profound domains of happiness and wellbeing. Building upon this foundation, the author posits the Hofstede Cultural Dimensions and Government Education Expenditures as prospective variables that may yield a discernible influence on the World Happiness Index. A dataset spanning 58 countries and analytical methodologies of Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression and Iteratively Reweighted Least Squares (IRLS) regression are used to test this conjecture. The outcome of this study reveals compelling insights into the association between the World Happiness Index and the identified variables. The results underscore a discernible relationship between the World Happiness Index and specific dimensions of cultural orientation, such as individualism, long-term orientation, and indulgence. Furthermore, the study reveals that government investment in education is another factor influencing the overarching landscape of happiness. These findings transcend mere statistical findings; they serve as beacons of knowledge with far-reaching implications for education policymakers, educators, and individuals interested in understanding the complexities of cultural variations, educational dynamics, and overall wellbeing. The implications of this research can offer relevant information to those who navigate the intricate intersections of cultural diversity, education policy, and the pursuit of societal happiness, such as education policymakers, educators and anyone interested in the issues of cultural differences, education, and wellbeing.

The Effect of Government Expenditure in Education, Health and Social Assistance Spending on the Poverty Rate of Yogyakarta Special Region Province

This study has the final results to determine the relationship between government spending in education, health and social assistance spending on poverty rates in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. This secondary data-based research has the form of a time series in 2012-2021, then the method used is multiple linear regression analysis with the OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) method. The results showed that programs on education implemented by the government of the Special Region of Yogyakarta through variable government spending in education were right on target and able to reduce poverty. but, variable government spending on health has not been able to reduce poverty and social assistance spending will increase poverty due to the effects of government dependence.

GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE AND POVERTY

Poverty is a problem in developing countries. Poverty alleviation requires comprehensive and integrated handling, because this problem is multysectoral and multidimensional. This study aimed to analyze the effect of government education, health, and infrastructure expenditures on poverty in Central Java Province, Indonesia. The data in this study was the pooling data from 35 districts/cities in Central Java Province from 2018 to 2020. The data analysis method in this study is multiple regression analysis with panel data. The results of the analysis show that the regression coefficient for the variable government spending on education was negative. Health expenditure has a negative effect on poverty levels. Public work expenditure has a negative effect on poverty levels in Central Java Province, Indonesia. This policy implies that the role of local governments is very large in reducing poverty in Central Java, so a larger budget is needed to reduce poverty in Province of Central Java.

Trends of Cause-Specific Mortality and Association with Economic Status, Education Level, as Well as Health Investment among Adolescents Aged 10 to 24 Years in China, 2004–2019

Objective: To describe the secular trends of cause-specific mortality among adolescents aged 10 to 24 years from 2004 to 2019 and explore the association between mortality and economic status, education level as well as health investment. Methods: Mortality data of adolescents aged 10 to 24 years were obtained from the national disease surveillance points system. The age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) was calculated by using the population data from the sixth national population census in 2010. GDP per capita, urbanization rate, illiteracy rate of the population over 15 years old, government education expenditure per capita, number of health service providers per 1000 people, and number of health beds per 1000 people were collected from China’s Economic and Social Big Data Research Platform. Age-period-cohort analysis was used to analyse the net age, period, and cohort effects of mortality among adolescents, while panel data regression was used to explore the association between mortality and economic status, education level as well as health investment. Results: Overall, the ASMR was 28.84 per 100,000 and the top five causes of mortality were road injuries, drowning, intentional self-harm and sequelae, leukaemia, and falls among adolescents aged 10 to 24 years in China in 2019. All-cause mortality declined with an annual percentage change of 4.02% (95% Confidence interval: 3.74% to 4.30%) from 2004 to 2019 yet with persistent differences across different demographic (gender and age) and geographical (urban-rural, and regional) subgroups. Notably, the ASMR for HIV/AIDS in males, lower respiratory infections in urban adolescents, and iron deficiency anaemia as well as cervical cancer in adolescents aged 20 to 24 years showed an increase over time. The multivariate panel data regression showed that the ASMR decreased by 5.18 (3.27, 7.08) per 100,000 for every increase in the number of health beds per 1000 population, but with insignificant association with GDP per capita and illiteracy rate in the total sample. Health beds investment was positively associated with ASMR at almost all subgroups except for adolescents aged 10 to 14 years; GDP per capita increase was helpful to males and rural adolescents while an increasing literacy rate was beneficial for females and adolescents aged 15 to 19 years. Conclusion: Given the persistent differences between subgroups, further investments including improving health services, especially increasing health bed investment, GDP per capita, and reducing the illiteracy rate and concern for adolescents in males, rural areas, the western regions, and aged 15 to 24 years are needed. Additionally, the increased burden of some diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, must be of further concern.

Impact of Government Health and Education Expenditures on Insurance Demand: ARDL Model

Impact of Government Health and Education Expenditures on Insurance Demand: ARDL Model

THE EFFECT OF HEALTH AND EDUCATION EXPENDITURES ON THE EMPLOYMENT: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM TÜRKİYE

This research delves into the influence of human capital investments on employment in Türkiye between 2000 and 2021. We first employ the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) method to assess both the short and long-term impacts of human capital investments on employment. Then, the Pairwise Granger Causality test is applied to explore the causality among the variables. According to the long run coefficient, a 1% rise in government education and health expenditures and GDP growth rate leads to a 1.27%, 1.17% and 0.76% increase in employment in Türkiye, respectively. Additionally, The Pairwise Granger Causality test results show that government education expenditure on human capital influences employment in Türkiye and vice versa as well as a causal relation between the employment rate and inflation rate. In conclusion, Türkiye should increase its expenditure on health and education as these investments serve as a vital role in enhancing the level of human capital and welfare of the population.

Effect of government experience on education and health: Implications on economic growth of Nigeria 1981-2021

This study analyzed government expenditure and economic growth of Nigeria for the period 1981-2021. Government expenditure was proxied with expenditure on education, health, social and community services while government total investment and net foreign trade were included as the intervening variables. Economic growth was proxied with gross domestic product. The data were analyzed using econometric procedures particularly the Auto regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. The results showed that in the short run, government health expenditure exerted positive relationship with GDP which was not significant while education expenditure exerted significantly negative effect on the economy. The long run analysis revealed that government education expenditure had negative significant effect on GDP while health expenditure had positive significant effect on GDP. The intervening effects of social and community services expenditure and investment were positive but not significant while net foreign trade exerted negative effect in the model. The study concluded that government expenditure have not been appropriately channeled towards the education sector despite the amount spent on recurrent and capital expenditures to education whereas health expenditure increased growth in the economy significantly. It was recommended that government should increase budget allocations to education sector and also encourage private stake holders to invest in the education sector as well as engaging in foreign partnership in funding the health sector.

An Empirical Retrospect of the Causal Effect of Government Education Spending on Growth in a Neoclassical Growth Model

There has been consensus on the notion that education results in economic prosperity and growth in many countries. This has resulted in a strong focus on education policy, with large investments and a lot of public debates concerning the subject. Various schools of thought have made differing suggestions about how government spending impacts economic growth over the years. The Keynesian view is that there is a positive relationship between government spending and economic growth, where the causal effect runs from government spending to economic growth. Conversely, the Neo-classical school asserts that the relationship between the two variables is negative. The topic, therefore, remains a debatable issue. The present study, therefore, tests the causal effect of education expenditure on economic growth in South Africa for the period 1994 to 2021, with the aid of the autoregressive distributed lag approach. Consistent with Keynesian theory, the study results confirm the positive impact of government spending on economic growth. A Granger causal relationship exists between government education expenditure and economic growth, indicating that over time, education expenditure positively impacts economic growth through human capital. This implies that investing (spending) in education is critical in promoting economic growth, especially in the long term.

Moderating the role of social progress with greenhouse gases to determine the health vulnerability in developing countries.

Human activities have compelled massive environmental degradation, which causes climate vulnerability and that has emerged as a significant health issue. The present study assesses the role of social progress with greenhouse gases to determine the health vulnerability in 77 developing countries from 2011 to 2020. The empirical results are estimated by using the panel ARDL econometric approach. The study found that greenhouse gas emission proposes a U-shaped relationship to determine health vulnerability. In this study, social progress is used as the moderator variable, which shifts the turning point of the U-shaped curve. For this purpose, the interaction term of social progress with greenhouse gases shifts the turning point to the left side of the U-shaped curve and further flattens it. Furthermore, this study explores that urbanization, export openness, and government education expenditure negatively impact health vulnerability while industrialization increases health vulnerability. The study recommends that government should pay special attention to declining greenhouse gases and rising social progress to improve health vulnerability.Graphical abstact.

HOW IMPORTANT EDUCATION IS? AN EXPLORATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE DROPOUT PHENOMENON IN EASTERN EUROPE

Early school leaving is a structural problem related to the socioeconomic environment involving aspects of local culture and customs that characterize a country. If not controlled, with the intent of hindering it, this phenomenon can generate unemployment, social exclusion, poverty, health problems and a slowdown in the country’s economic growth. Since education policies are one of the most important concerns of national governments and international organizations, the UN 2030 Agenda, containing the common ambitions of the signatory countries, proposes 17 sustainable development goals and specifically, among these, inclusive and equitable quality education. In some Eastern European countries, the percentage of young people who decide not to continue their studies is really too high, exceeding 10%. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to study the dropout phenomenon in this context. We employ a panel vector autoregressive model in first differences to test complex dynamic relationships between share of the population aged 18 to 24 not involved in any education or training (as a proxy for the dropout phenomenon), GDP per capita (as a proxy for a country’s wealth and industrial modernity), gross domestic expenditure on R&D in higher education (as a proxy for a country’s effort to improve its education system), and share of people reporting crime, violence or vandalism (as a proxy for a country’s social condition). The study concerns 10 Eastern European countries for the period 2000-2021. The results show that the government expenditure in education is negatively related to the dropout rate. Moreover, the increase in the relative number of early school leavers seems to stimulate a worsening in social conditions, with an increase in cases of crime, violence and vandalism. Finally, both an increase in dropouts and a deterioration in social conditions generate negative effects on the well-being of the community and economic growth. Improving the quality of the education system is therefore crucial (this is also confirmed by the variance decomposition analysis), even if it may not be enough: from the impulse response functions analysis, indeed, a shock exerted on the government expenditure on R&D in higher education produces positive effects on the (declining) dropout rate, but only for a short period. Policymakers should therefore make constant efforts to reduce the early school leaving.

The Potential of Human Capital Investment in Contributing to Economic Growth: ARDL Approach in the Context of Eastern and Southern Africa

Despite 25 years of exceptional progress in human development, there are still significant obstacles to overcome, particularly for underdeveloped nations. Numerous African countries devote substantial support to ensuring quality employment, a skilled workforce, and the building of an inclusive labour market. Hereby, the actual paper investigates the potential of human capital investment in contributing to the economic growth of Eastern and Southern Africa from the period 2001 to 2020. The study also attempts to determine the factors that promote skilled workforces in African countries. To carry on with the examination the study used an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model and the Granger causality tests. The rationale behind using these models is to capture the long-run and short-run dynamic relationship among the variables and to observe the direction of these relationships. Within this framework, the results exhibited that both during the long run and short run the educational level of individuals, government expenditure in education, and labour tax contribution affect the economic growth of the region. Whereas the Granger causality test establishes a one-way causal relationship between all educational levels and economic growth. The test presented no clear connection between government expenditure on education, labour tax, and GDP. Finally, the research provides evidence about the importance of investing in human capital to promote long-term economic growth. And how the government's efforts and educational system operate in Eastern and Southern Africa, which is a geographic region that is often overlooked.

Is government spending in the education and health sector necessary for human capital development?

This study intends to examine the impact of current health expenditure, domestic government health expenditure, government education expenditure, social protection, population growth, and foreign direct investment (FDI) on human capital formation in the context of Pakistan. This study utilized skill and health to measure human capital. The study utilized annual data for the period of 1990–2020 and data has been extracted from World Development Indicators (WDI) and World Bank. The study utilized auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) bound test to examine long-run co-integration among defined variables. Furthermore, the study employed ARDL Model to obtain long-run and short-run empirical estimates for modeled variables. The results of this study indicated that current health expenditure (CHE), domestic government health expenditure (DGHE), government education expenditures (GEE), foreign direct expenditure (FDI), and social protection program (SP) have a positive and significant association with human capital in term of primary, secondary, and tertiary education attainment and life expectancy at birth. Moreover, domestic government spending on health and education, and social protection program significantly decreases child mortality in Pakistan. Furthermore, this study found that population growth has a negative and significant association with primary attainment. The findings of this study suggest that the Government of Pakistan should allocate more of its budget for health, education, and social protection programs to uplift its human capital.