AbstractThe Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has performed the best among all regions in improving education attainment over the past four decades (1970–2010). Using econometric analysis, we show that this was due in large part to a convergence process in which countries that had low levels of education in 1970 increased their stocks much faster than those with higher initial education. Since MENA had the second lowest education stock among all regions in 1970, it benefited substantially from convergence over the next four decades. We also show that MENA obtained a comparative edge from having had the highest rate of public spending on education among all developing country regions. Such spending, however, was of middling efficiency and did little to produce education of good quality.
Public Spending and Education Attainment in the Middle East and North Africa