Educational Earmarks in the Light of the Political Milieu in Israel

• In Event: Financing Education in a Polycultural State: Challenges and Pitfalls

Proposal

This study analyses the transfers, changes and additions made to the education budget in Israel. Israel serves as an interesting case study because the number of its budgetary transfers is higher compared to other developed countries (Ben-Bassat, & Dahan, 2006). We examined the fiscal year 2014 in this case study approach, since many transfers and budget changes were made along this year, in the amount of 4 billion NIS, representing approximately 10% of the total education budget (the changes were made as part of the Finance Committee after the original budget was already approved).
This research was conducted using a qualitative method, based, inter alia, on interviews of key policy “actors” in the budgeting process, which was influenced by their worldview, their role in the system, but also their personal goals and policy documents. More specifically, the study includes a three-step analysis. The first phase analyzes relevant policy documents. The second phase includes an in-depth interviews conducted with key political figures in the field of education finance policy. In the third phase, an innovative conceptualization is developed by characterizing and merging the findings of the analysis of the policy documents conducted in the first phase, with the finding of the interviews analyzed in the second phase.

This study has both theoretical and practical contribution. Its theoretical significance focuses on the development of innovative conceptualization. The practical significance of the study lies in its implications in terms of policy. The policy implications arising from this study indicate the need for transparency and decentralization of the authority of the Finance Committee, and for reforming the decision making process to be a more professional one.
Ben-Bassat, A., & Dahan, M. (2006). The balance of power in the budgeting process. Jerusalem: The Democracy Library
 

Authors

• Roi Wolf, Economics and Finance of Education

• Iris BenDavid-Hadar, Bar-Ilan University