Efficiency of Public Expenditures in Education and Health in Belize, 2003 - 2013

Fundamental to the achievement of a country's economic and social development goals is efficiency in its public spending. This study analyses the levels and trends of public spending in the education and health sectors in Belize and offers an initial approach to evaluating the efficiency of such spending, taking into consideration the performance of the main outcome indicators for both sectors. The study contributes to the existing literature by using a new database that allows a territorial approach, by documenting the disparities of spending and sectorial outcomes at a national level and among different political administrative units (districts) for the period 2003-2013. Based on the aforementioned analysis, the study also identifies areas for improvement and presents policy recommendations to be implemented at a territorial level. Owing to the limitation of data in Central American countries, this analysis is encompassed in a regional effort of systematization and standardization of public spending figures and of input and output indicators in these two sectors.