Details
- Publication date
- 26 April 2006
- Authors
- Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture | European Expert Network on Economics of Education (EENEE)
- Geographical scope
- European Union
- Level of education focus
- Adult education
- Early childhood education and care (ECEC)
- Higher education
- School education
- Vocational education and training (VET)
- Thematic areas covered
- Education-to-work transitions, education and labour market
- Educational attainment and participation in education
- Educational effectiveness and efficiency
- Governance of education
- Investment in education, economic impact of education
- Lifelong learning
- Monitoring and quality assurance
- Quality and inclusive education for all
- Skills development
- Teachers and trainers
- Whole-school and whole-system approaches and partnerships in education
Description
This analytical report explores how European education and training systems can be both efficient and equitable. It highlights that early childhood investments yield the highest returns and strongly reduce inequalities.
In contrast, later-stage interventions often come with lower efficiency and may involve trade-offs. Institutional reforms—such as external assessments, school autonomy, and performance-based teacher incentives—play a key role.
The report finds that equity-oriented policies can also enhance efficiency, particularly when targeted at disadvantaged groups. It emphasizes the need for evidence-based policymaking, calling for better data and rigorous evaluations.
Overall, it recommends shifting from input-based approaches toward output-oriented governance to improve long-term social and economic outcomes.
Authors
Ludger Woessmann and Gabriela Schuetz
Cite as
Wößmann, L., Schütz, G. (2006), Efficiency and Equity in European Education and Training Systems, EENEE report.
