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on Education |
| By: | Djavad Salehi-Isfahani; Hania Kamel |
| Abstract: | In recent years Iran has greatly expanded its early childhood education program, taking first place in the Middle East in preschool enrolment. In this paper we examine the reasons for the unusual expansion and argue that it is in large part an institutional response to demographic changes in Iran, notably the sharp fertility decline of the 1990s. Fertility declined from more than 6 births per woman in the 1980s to about 2 in 2004, while during the same period kindergarten enrollments increased from less than 10 percent of 5 year old children to nearly one half of the population. Economists usually think of the effect of the reduction in fertility on child schooling in terms of a trade-off between quantity and quality. In their models both fertility decline and rising investment in child education are attributed to choices made by families to substitute quality for quantity of children. In the case of Iran, expansion of pre-school education appears to have an institutional explanation. In the early 1990s, following the decline in primary school enrolments in early 1990s, itself caused by fertility decline a few years earlier, caused a surplus of primary school teachers. In an attempt to preserve primary school teachers’ jobs, public schools worked together with parents to set up kindergarten classes in public schools, even though pre-primary education was not part of their official mandate. |
| Keywords: | Iran demographic swings; childhood education |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vpi:wpaper:e06-2&r=edu |
| By: | Küpper, Hans-Ulrich |
| Abstract: | Due to the rising relevance of the economy and economic questions in the 20th century, Business Administration has become an important subject in higher education. Its fast growing student numbers during the last decades show its weight within the higher education institutions, even though it is a quite young direction of study. This article works out the main determinants as well as the structural changes in Business Administration in tertiary education. As a result of the transition to bachelor and master programs of study and the reform of the higher education sector in Germany the education in Business Administration currently undergoes deep changes. The status quo of these reforms as well as its inherent chances and risks are analysed in this article as well. |
| Keywords: | business administration; higher education; university; bachelor; master |
| JEL: | A22 A23 I23 |
| Date: | 2006–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lmu:msmdpa:1239&r=edu |
| By: | Paul Frijters; Uwe Dulleck; Rudolf Winter-Ebmer (School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | Starting a firm with expansive potential is an option for educated and high-skilled workers. If there are labor market frictions, this additional option can be seen as reducing the chances of ending up in a low-wage job and hence as increasing the incentives for education. In a matching model, we show that reducing the start-up costs for new firms results in higher take-up rates of education. It also gives rise—through a thick-market externality—to higher rates of job creation for high-skilled labor as well as average match productivity. We provide empirical evidence to support our argument. |
| Keywords: | Matching; education; start-up costs; venture capital; bureaucratic hurdles |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qut:pfrijt:2006&r=edu |
| By: | Almada, Christa; Blanco-Gonzalez, Lorenzo; Eason, Patricia; Fullerton, Thomas |
| Abstract: | This study examines the relationship between education and income in Texas counties that are located along the border with Mexico. Estimation results confirm ealrier research results for this region. Parameter heterogeneity underscores the increased importance of education in the service-oriented labor market that has emerged in recent years in the United States. Simulation results quantify the income gains that could potentially be realized if drop out rates were lowered in the border counties included in the sample. |
| Keywords: | Education; Texas border incomes; applied econometrics. |
| JEL: | J38 R11 |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:451&r=edu |
| By: | Ferreira, Joao; Leitao, Joao; Raposo, Mario |
| Abstract: | This paper reveals the importance of a local entrepreneurial university in interfacing competitive advantages, by assuming the condition of most influent and dynamic engine of regional development. The strategic diagnosis provides the identification of a dominant quadrant in the TOWS matrix application to the Beira Interior region, which is dominated by Mini-Maxi strategies. For improving the competitive positioning of that region, the transition from the dominant quadrant (Mini-Maxi) to the most desirable quadrant (Maxi-Maxi) is also proposed. In this sense, the University assumes a fundamental role in the design and in the promotion of the proposed set of strategic actions, which should be implemented in two critical areas: traditional activities and tourism; and entrepreneurship and innovation. In terms of future research, the same analytical tool could be applied to other regions with a similar competitive profile, in order to obtain comparative analyses and to better calibrate the TOWS Matrix. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship; Regional Development; Strategy. |
| JEL: | M13 R11 |
| Date: | 2006–10–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:486&r=edu |