The Austrian Educational System in an International Comparison

The production of goods and services with high value-added is at the center of improving economic performance and international competitiveness. The highest growth rates have been achieved in high-technology sectors of manufacturing and in knowledge-intensive services, such as financial services and communications. In the large OECD countries more than half of GDP is produced in knowledge-intensive sectors. Even though knowledge has increasingly become a good that is produced and traded in the market, the responsibility of governments for promoting knowledge-intensive sectors of the economy remains large. Policymakers should pay more attention to promoting the growth of human capital by facilitating access to general education and by creating incentives for sustained training and further education that is geared to the needs of the business sector. The market mechanism alone may not provide the optimal level of human capital. But the simple, undifferentiated expansion of public expenditures on education and training, or throwing money at education, as it is sometimes called, is unlikely to achieve the desired economic and social goals. This article analyzes and evaluates some aspects of the Austrian educational system in an international comparison by discussing quantitative information on the participation of the population in the educational system, the structure of the system of higher education, and the employment of those who graduate from this system.