Public Spending Cuts Have Negative Impact on Student Achievement in Italy

Government austerity measures have a negative impact on the achievement of schoolchildren in Itay. This is shown by a study of the ifo Institute and the University of Lausanne, which examines the effects of the Italian public spending cuts as part of the National Stability Pact (PSI) on the performance of primary school children. Student performance in math and reading fell significantly as a result of the almost eight and a half years that children spent on average under public spending cuts.

“The public spending cuts in Italy mean that there is less money available for schools. In addition, the spending cuts have a greater negative impact on disadvantaged schoolchildren. These measures can therefore further exacerbate existing inequalities,” say ifo researchers Vera Freundl and Caterina Pavese. Per schoolchild, the spending cuts amount to an average of EUR 5,130.

The study examines the consequences of the public spending cuts measures under the Italian National Stability Pact (PSI), which was implemented in 1999 as part of the> EU’s Stability and Growth Pact. For their analyses, the authors combine nationwide student performance data with detailed information on municipal expenditure. The student performance data comes from the National Institute for the Educational Evaluation of Instruction and Training (INVALSI), which provides standardized test results for all Italian primary school children. The study uses the math and reading test results at the end of primary school (fifth grade) in the school years 2010/11 to 2016/17.