Written by: Eskil Heinesen, Peter Bogetoft and Torben Tranæs

Denmark, Norway, New Zealand, Canada and the USA are the OECD countries which spend most on education, measured in comparison with GDP. This study paper, which focuses on upper secondary level education, examines the extent to which the heavy spending on education in Denmark produces a correspondingly great return in terms of the number of students who begin upper secondary level education and the percentage of these students who complete their courses. The method used is to compare Denmark with a relevant group of other countries and to calculate how much more cheaply Denmark could teach the same number of students and maintain the percentage of students completing their courses as at present if the country could achieve the same level of cost efficiency as the most efficient comparison countries.