Educational investment is the allocation of financial, material, and organizational resources to education with the expectation of future returns in learning, human capital, and socioeconomic outcomes [1][2][3][4]. It includes public and private spending on early childhood, primary, secondary, and tertiary education, as well as expenditures on teachers, infrastructure, learning materials, student support, and education-related technology [1][2]. Educational investment is characterized by a long-term perspective: resources are committed in the present to improve skills, productivity, earnings, and social well-being over time [2][3][4]. In policy and research contexts, the term refers to both the level and composition of education spending, and to how effectively these resources are translated into equitable access, educational attainment, and broader development outcomes [1][2][3][4].
- educational investment
- education expenditure
- human capital
- public spending on education
Education and Labor Relations • Political Science and International Relations • Social Sciences • Social Sciences
References
- OECD. Education at a Glance 2023; Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD): Paris, France, 2023. [CrossRef]
- George Psacharopoulos; Harry Anthony Patrinos; Returns to investment in education: a decennial review of the global literature. Educ. Econ. 2018, 26, 445-458. [CrossRef]
- Sorin Tudor; Teodor Florin Cilan; Luiza Loredana Năstase; Mihaela Loredana Ecobici; Elena Rodica Opran; Andrei Valentin Cojocaru; Evolution of Interdependencies between Education and the Labor Market in the View of Sustainable Development and Investment in the Educational System. Sustain. 2023, 15, 3908. [CrossRef]
- Sun-Hee Kwon; Education Expenditure and Sustainable Human Capital Formation: Evidence from OECD Countries. Sustainability 2025, 17, 10848. [CrossRef]