## Education and Health in G7 Countries: Achieving Better Outcomes with Less Spending

_IMF Working Papers, November 1, 2007_

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## Bibliographic details
- Authors: Victoria Gunnarsson, Stéphane Carcillo, Marijn Verhoeven
- Published: November 1, 2007
- Series: IMF Working Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451868265.001

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### Overview
- Authors: Victoria Gunnarsson, Stéphane Carcillo, Marijn Verhoeven
- Publication date: November 1, 2007
- Type: IMF Working Paper (Working Paper No. 2007/263)
- Core objective: Assess efficiency of education and health spending in G7 countries and link cross-country efficiency differences to policy and institutional factors.

### Key findings
- Enhancing the efficiency of education and health spending is a key policy challenge in G7 countries.
- Inefficiencies in G7 countries mostly reflect lack of cost effectiveness in acquiring real resources, such as teachers and pharmaceuticals.
- High wage spending is associated with lower efficiency.
- Lowering student-teacher ratios is associated with reduced efficiency in the education sector.
- Immunizations and doctors' consultations coincide with higher efficiency in the health sector.
- Greater autonomy for schools seems to raise efficiency in secondary education.

### Policy implications and recommendations
- Reforms aimed at increasing efficiency need to take into account the nature and causes of inefficiencies (e.g., whether inefficiencies stem from resource acquisition or from service delivery).
- Address cost-effectiveness in acquiring real resources (teachers, pharmaceuticals) to improve overall efficiency.
- Review wage spending policies, since high wage spending is associated with lower efficiency.
- Evaluate the trade-offs of reducing student-teacher ratios, as lower ratios were associated with reduced efficiency in education.
- Promote preventive and primary-care activities (immunizations, doctors' consultations) that coincide with higher health-sector efficiency.
- Consider increasing school autonomy in secondary education to raise efficiency.

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- **Wp07263**
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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/31/education-and-health-in-g7-countries-achieving-better-outcomes-with-less-spending-21444_