Public investment in education sees largest drop across the EU, according to latest comparative report
Compared to investment in other domains and to the previous decade, education had one of the largest drops among the various public policy sectors between 2019 and 2022.
The “Investing in Education” report provides an overview of developments in investment in education in the EU. It compares public expenditure in education with other domains at EU and national levels. These domains include social protection, healthcare, economic affairs.
The reports also reveals new findings in the areas of effectiveness and efficiency of investment in education.
Lower investment compared to other sectors
The report found that investment in education has faced stronger competition from other public functions since the pandemic, and consequently receives a lower share of total public expenditure than in the previous decade. In fact, education investments experienced one of the largest drops among the various public policy sectors between 2019 and 2022.
Many social and economic measures taken by public authorities in 2020‑2021 in response to the Covid‑19 pandemic were discontinued or gradually phased out in 2022. However, new measures have since been introduced to face the energy crisis and support Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s invasion.
Investment opportunities
The report identifies several opportunities for quality investment in education, including:
Ensuring effectiveness and efficiency in investment in education will be the best way to seize those opportunities.
The report shows that a robust evidence-informed approach to education policy design and implementation is key.
The use of counterfactual policy evaluation
The report contains a mapping of the use of counterfactual policy evaluation in education in Europe to assess the success of policies and programmes.
Policy background
“Investing in Education” is an annual report of the European Commission’s Learning Lab on Investing in Quality Education and Training.