Education

Education has an important positive effect on economic growth, but economists are still work­ing on further empirical hypotheses to be tested. Evidence shows with a high probability that more years of schooling lead to higher income.

1.6.1. Students

A key indicator of educational system is the total number of individuals enrolled in tertiary edu­cation (including university and non-university studies) in the regular education system in each country. It corresponds to the target population for policy in higher education. It provides an indica­tion of the number of people who had access to tertiary education and are expected to complete their studies, contributing to an increase of the educational attainment level of the population in the country in case they continue to live and work in the country at the end of their studies.

1.6.2. Spending on Human Resources

Generally, the public sector funds dedicated to education are reflected either by bearing directly the current and capital expenses of educational institutions (direct expenditure for educational institutions) or by supporting students and their families with scholarships and public loans as well as by transferring public subsidies for educational activities to private firms or non-profit organisa­tions (transfers to private households and firms). Both types of transactions are reported as total public expenditure on education.

While the average public expenditure on edu­cation is 5% of GDP for European Union, there are countries like Bulgaria or Czech Republic, where for the last 10 years, the average public expenditure was less than 5% of GDP.

This situation is actually very similar to the Arab countries, where according to the latest World Bank data; the average public expenditure for education in 2008 was 4.7% of GDP.

1.6.3. Science and

Technology Graduates

The indicator “Tertiary graduates in science and technology” includes new tertiary graduates in a calendar year from both public and private in­stitutions completing graduate and post graduate studies compared to an age group that corresponds to the typical graduation age in most countries. It does not correspond to the number of graduates in these fields who are available in the labour market in this specific year. The levels and fields of education and training used follow the 1997 version of the International Standard Classifica­tion of Education (ISCED97) and the Eurostat Manual of fields of education and training (1999).

All countries from EEE region present an upward trend, following the trend present in the entire European Union.

1.6.4. Life-Long Learning

Operating successfully in the knowledge economy requires mastery of asset of knowledge and com­petencies. Three categories of competencies are key (OECD, 2005a):

• Acting autonomously: Building and exer­cising a sense of self, making choices and acting in the context of a larger picture, be­ing oriented toward the future, being aware of the environment, understanding how one fits in, exercising one’s rights and re­sponsibilities, determining and executing a life plan, and planning and carrying out personal projects.

• Using tools interactively: Using tools as instruments for an active dialogue; being aware of and responding to the potential of new tools; and being able to use language, text, symbols, information and knowledge, and technology interactively to accomplish goals.

• Functioning in socially heterogeneous groups: Being able to interact effectively with other people, including those from different backgrounds; recognizing the so­cial embeddedness of individuals; creating social capital; and being able to relate well to others, cooperate, and manage and re­solve conflict.

In this context, one important aspect is the life-long learning process, as a key to developing personal competencies.

For EEE countries, the data related to life-long learning comes from the EU Labour Force Survey, as the percentage of the adult population aged 25 to 64 participating in education and training.

Life-long learning refers to individuals aged 25 to 64 who stated that they received education or training in the four weeks preceding the survey (numerator). The denominator consists of the total population of the same age group, excluding those who did not answer to the question ‘participation to education and training’. The information col­lected relates to all education or training whether or not relevant to the respondent’s current or pos­sible future job.

There are significant differences among EEE countries from the point of view of life-long learning, Bulgaria and Romania having the lowest values for this indicator.

Few Arab countries have developed lifelong learning. Education systems in most Arab coun­tries only allow limited opportunities for indi­viduals to obtain more skills and acquire more knowledge after completing their formal degree or beginning to work. Lifelong learning is only articulated among national objectives in a handful of countries. Even then, the term “lifelong learn­ing” is defined within the framework of formal education, and is linked to adult illiteracy, teacher training, or continuous education in the form of e-learning

1.7.