Allocating Resources to Academic or Vocational Secondary Education for Economic Development? Empirical Evidence for Priorities of Investment in Education.

Overview & Synopsis

Education is a key for the economic growth and social development of developing countries. This paper presents findings of a study that analyzed how scarce resources should be allocated to the two types of secondary education--academic and vocational. Methodology involved correlation and regression analysis of World Bank data on the Gross National Products (GNPs) of over 100 countries and of educational expenditure variables from the UNESCO Statistical Yearbook, 1982. Findings indicate that the allocation of more inputs to academic education (in the form of expenditures, teaching staff, and pupils) had a positive effect on economic development. Countries that allocated more inputs to academic education in 1980 grew more rapidly throughout the decade than those countries that allocated fewer inputs. The data show that vocational education had some structural inefficiencies. Policymakers should allocate greater inputs to academic secondary education and increase the efficiency of secondary vocational education. Two tables are included. (Contains 12 references.) (LMI)