Italian Spending on Education: a Long-Term Perspective

This paper analyses the long-term evolution of public spending on education in Italy. After presenting a historical overview of the Italian school system, we analyse the trend of public expenditure on education from the Unification of Italy up to the present day, comparing it with other items of public expenditure, in particular social expenditure. We also explore a long-term comparison of expenditure on education between some European countries. Our analysis seems to suggest extremely clear policy implications. Expenditure on the social system appears to be too high compared to expenditure on education, for this reason rebalancing intervention seems necessary. Â JEL classification numbers: H1, H5, I00.