Benchmarking Public Spending Efficiency in Education, Health, and Infrastructure in Ireland

Selected Issues Papers, July 8, 2025

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The paper benchmarks Ireland’s public spending efficiency against peer countries in three sectors: infrastructure, health, and education.
It maps the efficiency frontiers in these sectors using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method.
Main conclusion: Ireland is at the efficiency frontier for education spending, while there is room for potential gains in public spending efficiency on health and infrastructure.
Potential impact: Achieving these efficiency gains could create further fiscal space to improve Ireland’s buffers for shocks in an environment of heightened global uncertainty and structural shifts.

Analytical approach: Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method.
Scope: Comparative benchmarking to peer countries across infrastructure, health, and education using a variety of indicators.

Education:
- Ireland is at the efficiency frontier for education spending.
Health:
- There is room for potential gains in public spending efficiency on health.
Infrastructure:
- There is room for potential gains in public spending efficiency on infrastructure.
Fiscal implications:
- Efficiency improvements in health and infrastructure could create further fiscal space to improve buffers for shocks in an environment of heightened global uncertainty and structural shifts.

Prioritize efficiency-enhancing reforms in health spending to capture potential gains identified by the benchmarking.
Prioritize efficiency-enhancing reforms in infrastructure spending to capture potential gains identified by the benchmarking.
Use realized efficiency gains to strengthen fiscal buffers against shocks given heightened global uncertainty and structural shifts.
Maintain current education spending approaches consistent with Ireland’s position at the education efficiency frontier.

Subjects: Education spending, Expenditure, Expenditure efficiency, Health, Health care spending, Infrastructure, National accounts
Keywords: Benchmarking public spending efficiency, Data Envelopment Analysis, Education spending, efficiency frontier, efficiency in Education, Expenditure efficiency, Global, Health care spending, Infrastructure, Infrastructure indicator, major spending category, Public Spending Efficiency

Benchmarking Public Spending Efficiency in Education, Health, and Infrastructure in Ireland — Yen N Mooi, July 8, 2025.

1. Public Spending
- 1. Public Spending (Markdown version)
- 1. Public Spending (PDF)