The Efficiency of Government Expenditure: Experiences From Africa

By Keiko Honjo, Marijn Verhoeven, Sanjeev Gupta

November 1, 1997

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Keiko Honjo, Marijn Verhoeven, and Sanjeev Gupta. The Efficiency of Government Expenditure: Experiences From Africa, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 1997) accessed April 7, 2025

Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary

This paper assesses the efficiency of government expenditure on education and health in 38 countries in Africa in 1984-95, both in relation to each other and compared with countries in Asia and the Western Hemisphere. The results show that, on average, countries in Africa are less efficient than countries in Asia and the Western Hemisphere; however, education and health spending in Africa became more efficient during that period. The assessment further suggests that improvements in educational attainment and health output in African countries require more than just higher budgetary allocations.

Subject: Education, Education spending, Expenditure, Health, Health care spending

Keywords: Africa, Asia and Pacific, Country authorities, Education, Education spending, Efficiency, Efficiency score, FDH analysis, Government expenditure, Government spending, Health, Health care spending, Output indicator, Production possibility frontier, Social indicators, West Africa, Western Hemisphere, WP

Publication Details

Pages:

60
Volume:

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DOI:

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Issue:

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Series:

Working Paper No. 1997/153
Stock No:

WPIEA1531997
ISBN:

9781451922400
ISSN:

1018-5941

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