Since the 1990s, the Israeli government has expanded higher education by increasing the number of institutions and public funding. This expansion policy was based on the approach that more accessible academic education is key to economic growth and to decreasing disparities between populations.

A new paper by Ori Katz examines the implications of that policy. He substantiates the claim that Israel’s system of higher education, planned and subsidized by the state, is bloated beyond its optimal level, at the same time that vocational education is being neglected. The empirical analysis is based on the OECD’s 2012-2015 Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), and the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics’ surveys on income and labor force for 1990-2015.

See the English summary here.
For the full Hebrew paper.