Government Expenditure on Education, Economic Growth and Long Waves: The Case of Portugal
Author(s)
Nunes, Ana Bela
Abstract
Describes and analyzes the patterns of government expenditure on education in France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, and Portugal from the beginning of the 20th century to 2000, emphasizing the case of Portugal. The expenditure patterns in France, Germany, and Great Britain, which had much more developed economies than Spain and Portugal, were largely countercyclical until 1939 and largely procyclical after 1945. In Spain, which was much less developed economically, the period of economic expansion after 1945 did not change the government’s countercyclical efforts to improve Spain’s educational level. Preliminary studies seem to suggest that Portugal followed the pattern of Spain, which allows the postulation of an Iberian model of educational spending contrasting with a northern pattern. Details are given of Portugal’s economic, political, and social development to illustrate the development of educational spending patterns.
