Measuring the determinants of educational spending in Africa

Abstract

This paper reports on research aimed at measuring the determinants of education spending in Africa and secondly, investigates whether expenditure on education in Africa optimizes social welfare. The empirical estimations are carried out using a public choice model on a panel of 29 selected African countries over the period 1995-2004. The results show that government expenditure on education is not resilient to shocks and the education sector is not seriously affected by allocative changes that favour corruption. However, expenditure on education in Africa does not comply with the rules outlined by the IMF in terms of their fiscal adjustment program.