Anna Vignoles (Institute of Education-University of London & Institute for Fiscal Studies) and Víctor Lavy (Hebrew University of Jerusalem & University of Warwick & NBER) warned that cuts in education have a negative impact on student performance. With education authorities under pressure to reduce budgets in the current recession, both specialists recommended a selective approach that avoids cuts in primary schools and in schools in poorer neighbourhoods. Vignoles and Lavy were taking part in the III Workshop on Economics of Education: Improving Quality in Education (September 12-13), organized by the Barcelona Economics Institute.