Economic government in education

‘At first glance, it might seem that where a State provides more staff per unit of service, there is a prima facie case for saying that this reflects a policy decision to provide a higher quality service. On the other hand, it can be argued that a State that is providing the same service with fewer staff per unit of service is operating more efficiently. Drawing on public choice theory, we have started from the assumption that, unless there is evidence to the contrary, high staffing ratios do not provide a better quality service and are a reflection of other factors, such as vote “buying” of public sector unions and other similar pressure groups or attempts to minimise potential vote losses from similar groups by politicians.’Institute of Public Affairs, ‘Efficiency of States' spending’, in Economic Planning Advisory Council (EPAC), in Background papers on the public sector, Background Paper Number 7, EPAC, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1990, p. 2.