A Latin American city recently required 32 technical specifications to buy school pens, the same ones that cost 50 cents at any kiosk. Meanwhile, millions of dollars worth of educational computers sit in warehouses, unused, because no one planned for teacher training or verified connectivity. This paradox, documented in our new book from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), captures perfectly: we not only spend little, we spend badly.
Latin America today invests the lowest percentage of GDP in education in two decades. The post-pandemic recovery has been slow and. But after analyzing 22 educational systems for this book, I can affirm that the problem goes beyond resources and that the lessons transcend our region. The Dominican Republic has made important progress by constitutionally guaranteeing 4% of GDP for education, which has been reflected in a 14-point improvement in the PISA mathematics tests, as well as greater access and better basic conditions. This represents an opportunity to confront pending quality challenges and advance reforms that strengthen spending efficiency. The results show.
The post-pandemic recovery has been slow and learning gaps with developed countries persist
The case of Chile is revealing. The Chilean Preferential School Subsidy Law (SEP) not only mobilizes resources; distributes them with surgical precision. Allocates approximately 70% more budget for each vulnerable student, using up-to-date socioeconomic data on a student-by-student, school-by-school basis. The result: Chile significantly reduced the learning gap between the richest and poorest students by 0.42 standard deviations. Even more impressive: the Chilean Congress does not discuss any educational project without data analysis. Evidence is what guides decisions.
Brazil offers another fundamental lesson with global implications: measuring is improving. With its annual school census, public assessments, and transparent data portals, Brazil created a virtuous cycle where information generates policy and policies generate measurable results. It is no coincidence that it is the only country in the region with sustained improvement in PISA: 76 points in mathematics in 20 years. Brazilian states and municipalities publicly compete for better educational indicators, transforming transparency into an engine of change.
Costa Rica, on the other hand, illustrates the universal consequences of decentralizing without building capacity. Their school boards manage up to 25% of the budget—in theory, an excellent practice of local autonomy. In reality, 90% of the members of these boards lack university training; many, in fact, only have primary school. Faced with this lack of capacity, the Government responds with more regulation: processes so complex that even buying lettuce for school lunch requires specially accredited suppliers. Predictable result: only 25% of the boards execute 90% of the resources, and the results in PISA have been stagnant for 15 years.
Argentina presents a particularly complex case, but also revealing for countries with federal systems. It maintains historically high educational investment and its co-participation system transfers significant resources to the provinces. But more than 90% of the budget arrives with a predefined destination, leaving minimal room for innovation. The indicators reflect these tensions: stagnant results in PISA and 25% dropout in secondary school.
These cases reveal an uncomfortable but universal truth: effective spending requires aligning four fundamental dimensions. First, mobilize sufficient resources. Second, distribute them with technical criteria. Third, execute them effectively. Fourth, transparently monitor results.
We need the Ministries of Education and Finance to work together, for evidence to guide decisions, and for every peso invested to be transformed into real learning.
The good news that the book documents is that existing tools have been tested. From Chilean distribution formulas to Brazilian monitoring systems, these experiences offer lessons not only for Latin America but also for any education system facing similar efficiency and equity challenges.
The moment is propitious. The post-pandemic educational crisis has generated global consensus on the urgency of reforms. But this time, we can’t settle for more of the same. As we detail in the book, we need the ministries of Education and Finance to work together, for evidence to guide decisions, and for every peso invested to be transformed into real learning.
Because in the end, the cost of spending poorly is not measured in overspecified pens or abandoned computers. It is measured in generations that, as the Chilean rock band Los Prisioneros sings, end up “kicking stones” because the system failed them. And that is a cost that no country—in Latin America or the world—can afford.
