France: Investment in education is a prerequisite to a structural improvement in the economy

A n improvement in labour force skills in France would lead to an increase in the employment rate and speed up corporate modernisation, and would therefore correct most of France’s structural problems (high structural unemployment, market share losses, fiscal and external deficits, deindustrialisation). An improvement in skills would require higher public spending on education. When we compare OECD countries, we see a link between the size of education spending (but not the size of labour market spending) on the one hand and education system performance and the level of labour force skills on the other. The solution is to improve teaching methods and the organisation of the education system, but also to give it more resources.