Governmental expenditure on education: Efficiency analysis in Asean countries, period 2015 – 2021

Abstract

Recently, the issue of public spending efficiency has garnered the attention of both policymakers and researchers worldwide. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of public spending in the education sector in several ASEAN countries during the period from 2015 to 2021. Based on the DEA - Malmquist - Tobit method, the study utilizes 2 inputs and 2 outputs, along with 3 impact factors, to conduct an efficiency analysis and the impacts on the effectiveness of public spending on education. The results indicate that Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam are the three countries that consistently achieved efficient public spending in education from 2015 to 2021. In contrast, countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines have not maintained efficiency in public spending in the education sector during this period. Furthermore, the efficiency of educational spending in these countries mainly depends on technology; however, most countries have not achieved pure technical efficiency, indicating that investment in technology is one of the key factors contributing to enhancing public spending efficiency. Additionally, considering the impact factors, foreign aid (ODA) and GDP per capita (GDPC) negatively affect the efficiency of national public spending, whereas trade openness (TRADE) has the opposite effect. Based on these findings, the author will provide recommendations regarding the state of education spending in these countries. Specifically, the government can gather issues in the field of primary education to find ways to improve and implement the budgeting process and allocate spending appropriately. In addition, the potential for high technology to be applied in teaching and learning is the key to promoting a modern, fair, and highly effective education system. Moreover, education spending heavily depends on the specific macroeconomic situation of each country. Therefore, educational spending policies should consider in relation to factors such as GDP per capita, trade openness, and foreign aid.