What is the impact of the economic crisis on public education spending?

Abstract

The economic crisis has reinforced the value of education. While educational attainment has always had a huge impact on employability, the financial crisis has strengthened this effect even further. On average across OECD countries, 4.8% of individuals with a tertiary degree were unemployed in 2011, compared with 12.6% of those lacking a secondary education. Moreover, between 2008 and 2011 the unemployment gap widened: the unemployment rate for adults with low levels of education increased by almost 3.8 percentage points, whereas it increased by only 1.5 percentage points for highly educated ones.