Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Measuring the Education and Health (non) crisis

OK I live in NSW. One thing if you live in NSW is that you are assumed to believe that we have to get rid of the NSW Government. The motivation is because we supposedly have crises in all areas of service delivery.

I've actually been defending the NSW Government recently. Our health system actually works well, we have a healthy long living population and we do this relatively cheaply. The few cases that get great media coverage aren't actually cases of a failing health system. Sometimes they are poor individual judgements, and sometimes they are just unrealistic expectations.

Our schools are similar. In fact, on national curricula the issue is about bringing everyone else up to the standard of NSW.

But referring to crises in health and education isn't just a NSW thing. Bernard Keane writing in Crikey today recounts the same tales coming from Victoria and nationally.

But he goes further and provides measures. Our health and education outcomes are near the top of the OECD, but we do it all by spending below the OECD average.

That means these systems are both effective and efficient - the holy grail of management.

Thankfully the Australian cricket team looks like it is about to give us something to really worry about!

Novae Meridianae Demetae Dexter delenda est

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