Description

This indicator measures the government’s commitment to investing in primary education.

Relationship to Growth & Poverty Reduction

While MCC generally strives to measure outcomes rather than inputs, educational outcome indicators can be very slow to adjust to policy changes, and adequate data on educational quality do not yet exist in a consistent manner across a large number of countries. Therefore, the Primary Education Expenditures indicator is used to gauge the extent to which governments are currently making investments in the education of their citizens. Research shows that, for given levels of quality, well-managed and well-executed government spending on primary education can improve educational attainment and increase economic growth.[1] There is also evidence that the returns to education to an economy as a whole are larger than the private returns.[2] Investments in basic education are also critical to poverty reduction. Research shows that regions that begin with higher levels of education generally see a larger poverty impact of economic growth.[3]

Methodology

UIS attempts to measure total current and capital expenditure on primary education at every level of administration—central, regional, and local. UIS data generally include subsidies for private education, but not foreign aid for primary education. UIS data may also exclude spending by religious schools, which plays a significant role in many developing countries.

In its data request to candidate countries, MCC asks that public expenditure on primary education b measured consistently with the IMF’s definition of primary education expenditure in Government Finance Statistics (GFS Line 707), which in turn relies on the 1997 International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED-97). Government outlays on primary education include expenditures on services provided to individual pupils and students and expenditures on services provided on a collective basis. Primary education includes the administration, inspection, operation, or support of schools and other institutions providing primary education at ISCED-97 level 1. It also includes literacy programs for students too old for primary school.

---

Footnotes

Source

• United National Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization Institute for Statistics (UNESCO/UIS)

  • Website
  • Email Address
  • +1 (514) 343-7752

  UIS compiles primary education expenditure data from official responses to surveys and from reports provided by education authorities in each country. For countries that do not have recent data on file with UIS, MCC relies on Primary Education Expenditure data reported by national governments directly to MCC, as a secondary source. In its data request to candidate countries, MCC requests inclusion of all government expenditures, including sub-national expenditures (both current and capital) and the consolidated public sector (i.e. state-owned enterprises and semi-autonomous institutions), but exclusion of donor funds unless it is not possible to disaggregate them. All data are requested in current local currency (not a constant base year, not dollars). Questions regarding the UIS data may be directed to survey@uis.unesco.org or (514)-343-7752. Questions regarding the data reported by national governments can be directed to the Development Policy team at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, at DevelopmentPolicy@mcc.gov.