The OECD Development Centre

David Khoudour-Castéras

Implementing, measuring and assessing education and skills policies: a

developing countries’ perspective

4th OECD World Forum – Measuring Well-Being for Development and Policy Making

Parallel 2b: Investing in education and skills

New Delhi, 16-19 October 2012

1 Why investing in education and skills matters for social cohesion

2 Measuring education and skills: shifting from quantity to quality

3

Outline

Addressing the education and skills policy challenges

Productivity

Social inclusion

Social capital

Social mobility

1. Why investing in education and skills matters for social cohesion

Productivity

Social inclusion

• Labour market• Better jobs and

higher wages

• Health conditions• Reduced child

mortality and fertility rates

• Less hazardous working environment

• Healthier life-style

• Women empowerment

Social capital

Social mobility

1. Why investing in education and skills matters for social cohesion

Productivity

Social inclusion

• Labour market• Better jobs and

higher wages

• Health conditions• Reduced child

mortality and fertility rates

• Less hazardous working environment

• Healthier life-style

• Women empowerment

Social capital

• Civic participation• Increased electoral

participation• Better capacity to

assess politicians’ behaviour

• More volunteering & donations

• Trust• Increased safety:

lower crime rates• Increased tolerance

(less discrimination, less racism...)

Social mobility

1. Why investing in education and skills matters for social cohesion

Productivity

Social inclusion

• Labour market• Better jobs and

higher wages

• Health conditions• Reduced child

mortality and fertility rates

• Less hazardous working environment

• Healthier life-style

• Women empowerment

Social capital

• Civic participation• Increased electoral

participation• Better capacity to

assess politicians’ behaviour

• More volunteering & donations

• Trust• Increased safety:

lower crime rates• Increased tolerance

(less discrimination, less racism...)

Social mobility

• Reduced weight of “inherited” factors• Parents’ economic

status• Geography• Ethnicity / language /

religion• Immigration• Gender

• Enlarged “aspiration window”

1. Why investing in education and skills matters for social cohesion

2. Measuring education and skills: shifting from quantity to quality

Measures of education and skills tend to focus on quantitative objectives (e.g. MDGs)

But they often do not take into account: The quality of education (what students really learn) Regional disparities (within a country)

Costa Rica: DisaggregatedMDGs at the local level

Target 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education

0%-59% of compliance: without progress or in deterioration

60%-79% of compliance: failure to reach the target - if current conditions persist80%-100% of compliance: goal has already been achieved or expected to be achieved by 2015

Measures of education and skills tend to focus on quantitative objectives (e.g. MDGs)

But they often do not take into account The quality of education (what students really learn) Regional disparities (within a country) Skills mismatches (lack of data) Skills acquired in the informal labour market

The long-term effects of education and skills are also difficult to measure

Vocational training: short vs. long-term inclusion on the labour market Impact of education in terms of inter-generational mobility

2. Measuring education and skills: shifting from quantity to quality

3. Addressing the education and skills policy challenges

Education and skills policies: main priorities Investing not only in more but also better skills Aligning education with labour-market needs Improving the school-to-work transition Encouraging the long-term adaptability of skills

Improving the availability and comparability of data Raising awareness on the importance of good data ( beyond the

electoral horizon) Participation of more developing countries in international tests (PISA,

PIAAC...) – in spite of bad results Strengthening peer learning and capacity building (in particular in low-

income countries)

Assessing education and skills policies Need to generalise policy evaluations (e.g. randomised control trials)

The OECD Development Centre

David Khoudour-Castérasdavid.khoudour@oecd.org

Thank you

4th OECD World Forum – Measuring Well-Being for Development and Policy Making

Parallel 2b: Investing in education and skills

New Delhi, 16-19 October 2012