Selected Issues Papers

Public Education in Belgium: Improving Outcome While Reducing Cost

By Jean-Jacques Hallaert

March 26, 2025

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Format: Chicago

Jean-Jacques Hallaert. "Public Education in Belgium: Improving Outcome While Reducing Cost", Selected Issues Papers 2025, 021 (2025), accessed April 18, 2025, https://doi.org/10.5089/9798229005098.018

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Summary

Educational outcomes in Belgium are comparable to peers but achieved at a higher cost. The public wage bill for education is higher than in peers, reflecting smaller student-to-teacher ratios and less teaching time. Yet, Belgium experiences teacher shortages. Reforms should aim at increasing the efficiency of public spending on education while achieving greater equality of educational outcomes and a lower skills mismatch. This would help increase the employment rate, reduce the need for firms to provide training to upgrade skills, boost productivity, and increase the creation and diffusion of innovation. Ultimately, these reforms would improve potential growth.

Subject: Education, Education spending, Employment rate, Expenditure, Expenditure efficiency, Labor, Wages

Keywords: B. Education outcome, Belgium, Education, Education spending, Efficiency gain, Employment rate, Europe, Expenditure efficiency, IMF staff calculation, Public Spending, Public Spending Efficiency, Wage bill, Wages

Publication Details

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