From time to time, the development aid debate returns to the same question: What public investment generates the greatest long-term economic and social return? The data is conclusive: education. Decades of research from the World Bank, the OECD and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) demonstrate that education is one of the smartest investments, capable of producing lasting benefits in productivity, equality and stability.
In an era marked by competing priorities – green transition, digitalisation, defense – education risks being left behind. However, the numbers put it back at the center of the table: for every dollar invested in education, societies generate ten times greater returns in future tax revenues, GDP growth, public health and social stability.
The seed of growth
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Education is the seed capital of development. Every child who learns to read, solve an equation, or question an idea is helping to create the wealth of tomorrow.
“According to UNESCO, education has contributed to reducing extreme poverty by 40% since 1980″
According to UNESCO, education has contributed to reducing extreme poverty by 40% since 1980. In strictly economic terms, Each additional year of schooling increases individual income by around 10% and reduces the probability of falling into poverty. According to UNESCO, education has contributed to reducing extreme poverty by 40% since 1980, reminding us that no other investment has offered such consistent returns for people and societies.
When scaled up, that effect becomes structural: a 1% improvement in learning outcomes is associated with a 7.2% increase in annual GDP growth. Since 1980, educational expansion has explained approximately half of global economic growth and 70% of the increase in income among the poorest fifth of the global population.
Investing in education, therefore, is not a gesture of charity, but rather a first-order economic policy.. The most productive economies are not necessarily the richest in natural resources, but those that have learned to invest in knowledge.
From poverty to productivity
The case of Vietnam clearly illustrates this dynamic. In the nineties, The country committed to universal schooling, combining the expansion of classrooms with teacher training and curricular improvement. In just one generation, GDP per capita went from less than 700 dollars in 1986 to almost 4,500 in 2023, and more than forty million people were lifted out of extreme poverty.
This transformation was not only the result of trade liberalization, but also of a massive accumulation of human capital: more qualified workers, more innovative entrepreneurs and a better educated citizenrycapable of sustaining stable institutions.
“272 million children are still out of school and seven out of ten, in low-income countries, do not achieve basic literacy”
In a global context where 272 million children are still out of school and seven out of ten, in low- or lower-middle-income countries, do not achieve basic literacy by the age of ten, Countries that reverse this trend are securing a competitive advantage for decades.
The invisible tax return
Education not only improves lives: it strengthens public finances. Each literate citizen broadens the tax base, reduces dependence on assistance systems and contributes to the sustainability of social protection schemes.
Therefore, each euro invested in basic education generates several euros in future tax revenue, according to estimates by the World Bank and the OECD. However, the international financial architecture does not yet reflect this logic. Global education funding faces a $100 billion annual shortfall, while Bilateral aid to the sector has fallen by more than 2,000 million since 2020.
It is not just about investing more, but about avoiding setbacks. Since 2020, aid to education has decreased while needs have doubled due to climate, humanitarian and migration crises. Maintaining or increasing educational investment today avoids much greater costs tomorrow: employability crisis, social tensions, forced migrations or institutional weakness. Reducing educational investment in times of crisis is like turning off the engine precisely when the plane enters turbulence. The result is a true contradiction: governments and institutions that preach the “efficiency of public spending” neglect precisely the investment with the highest proven rate of return.
Education as infrastructure
Education is rarely considered “infrastructure,” although it is – literally – the network that keeps all other systems running. Without schools there is no technological innovation; without teachers, there is no green transition; Without literacy, there is no functional democracy.
“Multi-year planning, stable investment and evaluation mechanisms that measure real learning results are needed”
Multi-year planning, stable investment and evaluation mechanisms that measure real learning results are needed. Treating education as public infrastructure means financing it with the same long-term vision as highways or electrical networks.: with multi-year planning, stable investment and evaluation mechanisms that measure real learning outcomes, not just spending levels.
That is precisely the logic of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), a multilateral mechanism that combines financing, coordination and evidence to strengthen education systems in 92 countries. Its model is not based on isolated projects, but on national reform plans led by governments, with the participation of development banks, civil society and the private sector.
Smart financing, sustainable investment
Innovating in educational financing does not mean creating new instruments, but rather using existing ones better. The GPE Multiplier Fund is a clear example: for every dollar contributed by a partner – philanthropic, public or private – additional funds are mobilized, multiplying the impact and aligning interests around a common strategy.
Since 2021, This mechanism has mobilized more than $4.7 billion in additional financing for basic education. In Ghana, a philanthropic contribution of $40 million triggered matching funds that made $80 million available to improve the quality of learning in 16,000 schools.
The lesson is clear: when funding is aligned with national policies and measured by learning outcomes, Every euro invested generates greater economic and social returns than any other public policy.
An economic policy with a human face
Spain is in a privileged position to lead this debate. It has been part of GPE since 2006 and, in recent years, it has reinforced its financial and political commitment. But beyond international cooperation, the same lesson applies at the national level: without sustained investment in public education and lifelong learning, there will be no productivity or territorial cohesion or ecological transition.
“Education is, above all, a right. From that premise, What we invest in education can never be treated as an expense: it is an investment in human capital, stability and growth. And when it is aligned through cooperation, it not only adds, it multiplies.” This was recalled by Antón Leis, director of the AECID (Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation), during the presentation at Congress of the GPE’s Multiply possibilities campaign, whose objective is to mobilize 5 billion dollars and unlock another 10 billion for education, multiplying the learning possibilities of almost 750 million children in 96 countries.
“Education is not a cost that must be justified, but the most valuable asset that a democratic economy can produce”
Education is not a cost that must be justified, but the most valuable asset that a democratic economy can produce. If the 21st century wants to redefine what we mean by growth, it must be built on solid foundations: open classrooms, critical minds and real opportunities for lifelong learning. Because every child who learns multiplies the possibilities and every budget that makes it possible, multiplies the future.
Spain has the opportunity to become one of the great architects of a new global agenda for education, based on learning outcomes, smart investments and multi-actor cooperation. At a time when many traditional partners are reducing their support, the Spanish leadership is sending a clear message: Investing in education is not a diplomatic gesture, but a strategic commitment to a safer, more prosperous and sustainable world.
In collaboration with the “la Caixa” Foundation
