Examination of fiscal expenditures on education and research as human capital investments

The economic role of knowledge, education and research as investments in individuals‘ human capital has become a real focus of attention among researchers and policy makers in Europe over the last few decades. Individuals‘ high level skills and the versatile knowledge acquired in a formal or informal educational context have become extremely important factors in evolving knowledge-based economies. In this article we primarily analyze fiscal expenditures on education, and on research and development among OECD countries, and examine the change over time of state expenditures on education.