|
on Education |
|
Issue of 2007‒08‒08
thirty-one papers chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao University of the Beira Interior |
| By: | Jung Hur (Department of Economics, National University of Singapore); Kang Changhui (Department of Economics, National University of Singapore) |
| Abstract: | In educating students national public school systems use different methods of grouping students by ability across schools. We consider four different school systems of student allocation at different stages of schooling and their educational implications. Our two-period model suggests that both the frequency and sequence of ability grouping play an important role in producing educational implications. As different households prefer different combinations of school systems, the overall performance of a school system is determined by how households are distributed over income and a child's ability and the voting of households. |
| Keywords: | Education, Comprehensive and Selective School Systems |
| JEL: | D11 I20 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nus:nusewp:wp0704&r=edu |
| By: | Jason Barr |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates charter school performance in New Jersey from 2000 to 2006. The analysis shows that charter schools have lower performance than public schools in the same districts on fourth grade standardized tests for Language and Math, but performance improves as charter schools gain experience. In addition, I find that the N.J. Dept. of Education is effectively closing low-performing charter schools. Lastly, regression results provide evidence of a competitive effect from charter schools to public schools. |
| Keywords: | Charter Schools, Student Achievement, Competition, New Jersey |
| JEL: | H4 I2 |
| Date: | 2007–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:run:wpaper:2007-006&r=edu |
| By: | Dave E. Marcotte (University of Maryland Baltimore County and IZA); Steven W. Hemelt (University of Maryland Baltimore County) |
| Abstract: | Do students perform better on statewide assessments in years in which they have more school days to prepare? We explore this question using data on math and reading assessments taken by students in the 3rd, 5th and 8th grades since 1994 in Maryland. Our identification strategy is rooted in the fact that tests are administered on the same day(s) statewide in late winter or early spring, and any unscheduled closings due to snow reduce instruction time, and are not made up until after the exams are over. We estimate that in academic years with an average number of unscheduled closures (5), the number of 3rd graders performing satisfactorily on state reading and math assessments within a school is nearly 3 percent lower than in years with no school closings. The impacts of closure are smaller for students in 5th and 8th grade. Combining our estimates with actual patterns of unscheduled closings in the last 3 years, we find that more than half of schools failing to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) in 3rd grade math or reading, required under No Child Left Behind, would have met AYP if schools had been open on all scheduled days. |
| Keywords: | education, accountability, testing, school resources |
| JEL: | I2 I21 |
| Date: | 2007–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2923&r=edu |
| By: | L.Guarcello; S.Lyon; F.Rosati |
| Abstract: | Education is a key element in the prevention of child labour; at the same time, child labour is one of the main obstacles to Education for All (EFA). Understanding the interplay between education and child labour is therefore critical to achieving both EFA and child labour elimination goals. This paper forms part of UCW broader efforts towards improving this understanding of education-child labour links, providing a brief overview of relevant research and key knowledge gaps. The study largely confirm the conventional wisdom that child labour harms children's ability to enter and survive in the school system, and makes it more difficult for children to derive educational benefit from schooling once in the system. The evidence also suggested that these negative effects are not limited to economic activity but also extend to household chores, and that the intensity of work (in economic activity or household chores) is particularly important in determining the impact of work on schooling. As regards the link between education provision and child labour, it pointed to the important role of inadequate schooling in keeping children out of the classroom and into work. This evidence indicated that both the school quality and school access can play an important role in household decisions concerning whether children study or work. |
| Date: | 2006–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucw:worpap:19&r=edu |
| By: | Weber, Andrea Maria |
| Abstract: | Discussions on the benefits of single-gender education on girls science outcomes are popular in the German education literature. However, most empirical evidence tends to be qualitative work and the causal effects of single-gender education are hardly identified using appropriate statistical methods. This paper provides insights from a recent single-gender-education school project conducted in computer science classes at a German lower secondary school. About 80 students participated in this intervention study repeatedly answering specifically designed questionnaires and tests. The project fails to identify positive effects from single-gender education but the interpretation is impeded by several confounding factors. When directly asked, most students prefer to be educated in mixed-gender groups, while the participating teachers judge their teaching experience with the project groups in favour of single-gender education. |
| Keywords: | gender, education, identification, coeducation, segregation, experiments |
| JEL: | I21 J16 |
| Date: | 2007–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:han:dpaper:dp-369&r=edu |
| By: | Rob Luginbuhl; Dinand Webbink; Inge de Wolf |
| Abstract: | Inspectors from the Dutch Inspectorate of Education inspect primary schools, write inspection reports on each inspected school, and make recommendations as to how each school can improve. We test whether these inspections result in better school performance. Using a fixed-effects model, we find evidence that school inspections do lead to measurably better school performance. Our assessment of school performance is based on the Cito test scores of pupils in their final year of primary school. Therefore school improvement means increased Cito test scores. The results indicate that the Cito test scores improve by 2% to 3% of a standard deviation of the test score in the two years following an inspection. The arithmetic component shows the largest improvement. Our estimates are the result of an analysis of two types of school inspections performed between 1999 and 2002, where one type was more intensive than the other. In one fixed-effects model, we assume that the effect of the two types of school inspections was the same. We cannot, however, be sure that the estimates from this model are free from the problem of endogeneity bias. Therefore, we also obtain estimates for a less restrictive fixed-effects model. In this less restrictive model, we make use of the fact that a subset of the more intensive school inspections occurs at a representative selection of primary schools. Based on this smaller, essentially randomly drawn sample of schools, we can be confident that these estimates of the effect of school inspections are free from endogeneity bias. Due to the limited number of inspections at randomly selected schools, these estimates are not significantly different from zero. These estimates are, however, consistent with the effects found based on all inspections. The less restrictive model also allows for the effect of the more intensive inspections to differ from that for the less intensive ones. We find evidence that the more intensive inspections are responsible for larger increases in the Cito test scores than the less intensive ones. |
| Keywords: | school improvement; school inspection; natural experiment |
| JEL: | I21 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:83&r=edu |
| By: | Orazem, Peter; King, Elizabeth M |
| Abstract: | In developing countries, rising incomes, increased demand for more skilled labor, and government investments of considerable resources on building and equipping schools and paying teachers have contributed to global convergence in enrollment rates and completed years of schooling. Nevertheless, in many countries substantial education gaps persist between rich and poor, between rural and urban households and between males and females. To address these gaps, some governments have introduced school vouchers or cash transfers programs that are targeted to disadvantaged children. Others have initiated programs to attract or retain students by expanding school access or by setting higher teacher eligibility requirements or increasing the number of textbooks per student. While enrollments have increased, there has not been a commensurate improvement in knowledge and skills of students. Establishing the impact of these policies and programs requires an understanding of the incentives and constraints faced by all parties involved, the school providers, the parents and the children. The chapter reviews the economic literature on the determinants of schooling outcomes and schooling gaps with a focus on static and dynamic household responses to specific policy initiatives, perceived economic returns and other incentives. It discusses measurement and estimation issues involved with empirically testing these models and reviews findings. Governments have increasingly adopted the practice of experimentation and evaluation before taking steps to expand new policies. Often pilot programs are initiated in settings that are atypically appropriate for the program, so that the results overstate the likely impact of expanding the program to other settings. Program expansion can also result in general equilibrium feedback effects that do not apply to isolated pilots. These behavioral models provide a useful context within which to frame the likely outcomes of such expansion. |
| Keywords: | Education, household demand for education, education policy |
| JEL: | I2 |
| Date: | 2007–07–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:12838&r=edu |
| By: | S.Lyon; F.Rosati |
| Abstract: | Worldwide, an estimated 104 million children are working. Many of them have never attended school or have dropped out very early. About two-thirds of them are girls. Considering that most if not all of these children missing out on primary education are child laborers, efforts to achieve EFA must go hand in hand with efforts to eliminate child labor. Child labor also affects the academic achievement of the considerable number of children who combine school and work, contributing to the early drop-out and entry into full-time work. To these figures one should also add the large number of youth that enter the labor market without or with very limited schooling. The twin challenges posed by out-of-school children and child laborers therefore remain daunting. The paper examines the role of non-formal education (NFE) in helping to meet these challenges. It first reviews international program experience in the areas of NFE and working children and key lessons learned from this experience. Building on this review, it then examines additional research needed to identify where non formal education should fit in the broader effort towards Education For All and child labor elimination. |
| Date: | 2006–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucw:worpap:20&r=edu |
| By: | Joachim R. Frick (SOEP, DIW Berlin, TU Berlin and IZA); Markus M. Grabka (SOEP, DIW Berlin); Olaf Groh-Samberg (SOEP, DIW Berlin) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to estimate income advantages arising from publicly provided education and to analyse their impact on the income distribution in Germany. Using representative micro-data from the SOEP and considering regional and education-specific variation, from a cross-sectional perspective the overall result is the expected levelling effect. When estimating the effects of accumulated educational transfers over the life course within a regression framework, however, and controlling for selectivity of households with children as potential beneficiaries of educational transfers, we find evidence that social inequalities are increasing from an intergenerational perspective, reinforced in particular by public transfers for non-compulsory education, thus negating any social equalisation effects achieved within the compulsory education framework. |
| Keywords: | education, public transfers, income distribution, economic wellbeing, SOEP |
| JEL: | I38 I22 D31 I32 |
| Date: | 2007–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2911&r=edu |
| By: | Bert Minne; Marieke Rensman; Björn Vroomen; Dinand Webbink |
| Abstract: | This report surveys the recent literature on human capital and productivity. Recent studies suggest that the right-hand side of the skill distribution is important for productivity, especially in countries that already have a high level of productivity. An empirical analysis of the Dutch skill distribution reveals that the Netherlands is not positioned among the best-performing countries at the right-hand side of the distribution. On average, the Dutch skill level is high, but this level is mainly based on the relatively high skill level at the left-hand side of the skill distribution. The Dutch position declines when moving to the right-hand side. At the very highest skill level, the Netherlands is not among the best of the world. This is true for both secondary education and higher education. The Dutch share of graduates from higher education is also not among the highest in the OECD. The findings on the skill distribution are robust for several skill surveys, age groups and over time. This robustness may be the result of the structure of the Dutch educational system. The findings indicate that there is scope for improvement of skills at the right-hand side of the distribution. Therefore, policies that raise the Dutch performance at high- and top skill levels in higher education or in earlier stages of education may improve Dutch productivity. Further research is needed to assess these policies. |
| Keywords: | skill levels; education; knowledge economy; productivity |
| JEL: | J24 I28 |
| Date: | 2006–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:spcial:69&r=edu |
| By: | Murat Arik |
| Date: | 2007–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mts:studys:200705&r=edu |
| By: | Juan José Dolado; E. Morales |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the determinants of academic performance of first-year undergraduate students in Economics at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, over the period 2001-2005. We focus on a few core subjects which differ in their degree of mathematical complexity. Type of school, specialization track at high school, and the grades obtained at the university entry-exam are among the key factors we examine. Our main finding is that those students who completed a technical track at high school tend to do much better in subjects involving mathematics than those who followed a social sciences track (tailor-made for future economics students) and that the latter do not perform significantly better than the former in subjects with less degree of formalism. Moreover, students from public schools are predominant in the lower and upper parts of the grade distribution while females tend to perform better than males. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fda:fdaddt:2007-23&r=edu |
| By: | F.Rosati; M. Rossi |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on the impact that two different types of policy interventions, namely enhancing school quality and contingent cash transfers , have on child labour and school attendance in Mexico. While there are many studies on the impact of Oportunidades on schooling outcomes, little evidence is available on whether school quality programs such as CONAFE also reduce child labour and help keep children in school. To carry out the analysis, we merge the Oportunidades panel dataset for the years 1997 to 2000 to the CONAFE dataset containing detailed information on the school quality program components. The econometric strategy involves a bivariate probit model for child labor and schooling, both for primary school aged children and adolescents. In this way, we are able to control whether the impact of the program on schooling differs according to the age of the targeted child. Our findings suggest that school quality programs are not only effective in increasing school attendance, but also act as deterrents to child labor, especially for children of secondary school age. |
| Date: | 2007–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucw:worpap:21&r=edu |
| By: | Simon Kirby; Rebecca Riley |
| Abstract: | Augmenting a Mincerian earnings function with industry level data we estimate the external return to schooling for a repeated cross-section of individuals in the UK over the period 1994-2004. We find that a one year increase in the industry average level of schooling is associated with an increase in individual wages of 2.6 to 3.8 per cent, between 43 and 61 per cent of the private return to schooling. We illustrate the sensitivity of these estimates to the ICT and capital intensity of industry level production, the union density of the industry, and individuals’ own level of schooling. |
| Date: | 2007–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nsr:niesrd:291&r=edu |
| By: | Eduardo Zepeda (International Poverty Centre) |
| Abstract: | . |
| Keywords: | Poverty, Inequality, MDG |
| Date: | 2006–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:opager:23&r=edu |
| By: | Helena Skyt Nielsen (AKF, University of Aarhus and IZA); Nina Smith (University of Aarhus and IZA); Aycan Celikaksoy (AKF, SDI and University of Aarhus) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the effect of immigrants’ marriage behavior on dropout from education. To identify the causal effect, we exploit a recent Danish policy reform which generated exogenous variation in marriage behavior by a complete abolishment of spouse import for immigrants below 24 years of age. We find that the abrupt change of marriage behavior following the reform is associated with improved educational attainment of young immigrants. The causal impact of marriage on dropout for males is estimated to be around 20 percentage points, whereas the effect for females is small and mostly insignificant. We interpret the results as being consistent with a scenario where family investment motives drive the behavior of males, while the association between marriage and dropout for females is driven by selection effects. The estimated causal effect varies considerably across subgroups. |
| Keywords: | education, dropout, immigrants, spouse import, marriage migration, family investment model |
| JEL: | I21 J12 |
| Date: | 2007–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2899&r=edu |
| By: | Mamoon, Dawood; Murshed, S. Mansoob |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of increased trade on wage inequality in developing countries, and whether a higher human capital stock moderates this effect. We look at the skilled-unskilled wage differential. High initial endowments of human capital imply a more egalitarian society. When more equal societies open up their economies further, increased trade is likely to induce less inequality on impact because the supply of skills better matches demand. But greater international exposure also brings about technological diffusion, further raising skilled labour demand. This may raise wage inequality, in contrast to the initial egalitarian level effect of human capital. We attempt to measure these two opposing forces. We also employ a broad set of openness indicators to measure trade liberalization policies as well as general openness, which is an outcome, and not a policy variable. We further examine what type of education most reduces inequality. Our findings suggest that countries with a higher level of initial human capital do well on the inequality front, but human capital which accrues through the trade liberalization channel has inegalitarian effects. One explanation could be that governments in developing countries invest more in higher education at the expense of primary education in order to gain immediate benefits from globalization; thus becoming prone to wage inequality after increased international trade. Our results also have implications for the speed at which trade policies are liberalized, the implication being that better educated nations should liberalize faster. |
| Keywords: | trade liberalization, wages, economic disparity, skills development, education, human resources |
| JEL: | F15 I3 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iss:wpaper:443&r=edu |
| By: | Joan Rosselló (Universitat de les Illes Balears) |
| Abstract: | We present a model which allows us to show that even in a public university system where tuition and fees are fixed by the administration, a stratification of public universities according to the quality they offer and the quality of students they select, can be observed. This result is similar to that observed in private and competitive university systems. We also show that it is very unlikely that segregation and stratification could be avoided by subsidizing those universities that are more inefficient. We show also that even if stratification and segregation could be corrected with subsidies it would be at the cost of fixing the upper-bounds at the quality that could be offered at any university, hence fixing quality limits at the whole university system. |
| Keywords: | School choice, state and federal aid. |
| JEL: | H24 I28 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubi:deawps:26&r=edu |
| By: | Elizabeth Asiedu (Department of Economics, The University of Kansas); Boaz Nandwa (Economic Growth Center, Yale University) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether foreign aid in education has a significant effect on growth. We take into consideration the heterogeneous nature of aid as well as the heterogeneity of aid recipients—we disaggregate the aid data into primary, secondary and higher education, and run separate regressions for low income and middle income countries. We find that the effect of aid varies by income as well as by the type of aid. Thus our results underscore the importance of the heterogeneity of aid flows as well as the heterogeneity of recipient countries when analyzing the effect of aid on growth. |
| Keywords: | Education, Foreign Aid, Growth. |
| JEL: | F34 F35 I20 O19 |
| Date: | 2007–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kan:wpaper:200701&r=edu |
| By: | Collan, Mikael; Kallio-Gerlander, Jaana |
| Abstract: | The target audiences for entrepreneurial university studies are most often students of different fields of business studies, or economics; entrepreneurship studies are a part of their normal curriculum. Entrepreneurs, however, are not a group that consists only of business professionals, but a group of people from all walks of life. The basic procedures and laws governing the starting of a company are most often same for all companies and individuals. It is important to acknowledge these two facts, when designing curriculums for university studies: basic courses in entrepreneurship (starting a business) are important for students of all disciplines. This paper reports experiences from educating multi-disciplinary student groups in entrepreneurship, presents preliminary data about student background and attitudes towards entrepreneurship, and discusses some lessons learned from the experiences. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship education; multi-disciplinary groups; lessons learned |
| JEL: | M13 L26 A22 A2 |
| Date: | 2006 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:4331&r=edu |
| By: | Ajitava Raychaudhuri; Prabir De (Jadavpur University) |
| Abstract: | The study, thus, touches only tip of an iceberg in terms of its analytical power to explain movement of students across nations. It points out to the definite existence of country specific barriers and from a pilot case study in India, highlights some of these possible barriers. However, future studies should be attempted to understand the extent of barriers to trade in education services through more intensive primary survey and bilateral country studies. |
| Keywords: | Trade in Education Services, Asia-Pacific |
| JEL: | F1 |
| Date: | 2007–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esc:wpaper:3407&r=edu |
| By: | Gupta Anil K. |
| Abstract: | Having been a product of Agricultural University, I understand and empathize with the leaders of the universities about the problems they face. However, let us accept that the standards that were set decades ago can indeed be surpassed if only we would challenge the students to bring out the best in them. My one line summary of the problem is that we are not challenging the future leaders of our discipline strongly enough. Is it because rise in their expectations will create a stress on us or is it that we have learnt to be helpless? Isn’t it ironic that in almost no agricultural university, a graduate or postgraduate is not required to take any course in entrepreneurship? The universities seem to be locked up in the paradigm of seventies. |
| Date: | 2007–07–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iim:iimawp:2007-07-04&r=edu |
| By: | L. Guarcello; S. Lyon; F.Rosati; C.Valdivia |
| Abstract: | In Georgia, the lack of employment opportunities and with it, the loss of positive motivation and hope in a better future, is among the critical challenges facing the current generation of young people. Many of the employment problems of Georgian young people are rooted in the critical period of transition from education to working life. Yet the routes that young people take from education to employment are poorly understood, and data relating to this transition period are scarce. There is therefore limited empirical basis for formulating policies and programmes promoting youth employment and successful school to work transitions. This paper constitutes a starting point for more detailed analysis on youth labour market status in the Georgian context and it study is aimed at contributing to fill the lack of information about the transition from education to working life. It therefore analyses a set of youth education and employment indicators based on 2002 Georgia Household Budget Survey. Particular emphasis is placed on measuring the initial transition from school to work for different groups of young people, and on identifying the factors affecting this transition. |
| Date: | 2005–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucw:worpap:23&r=edu |
| By: | Hendrik Jürges (Mannheim Research Institute for the Economics of Aging (MEA)) |
| Abstract: | Education is arguably the most important correlate of health We study education-related inequality in the physical of older adults across 11 European countries and the US. Combining data from HRS 2002, ELSA 2002 and SHARE 2004, our results suggest that education is strongly correlated with health both across and within countries. Education-related inequality in health is larger in Mediterranean and Anglo-Saxon countries than in western European countries. We find no evidence of a trade-off between health levels and equity in health. Education-related inequality in health hardly driven by income or wealth effects (except in the US), and differences in health behaviors (smoking) by education level contribute surprisingly little health differences across education groups. |
| Date: | 2007–07–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mea:meawpa:07141&r=edu |
| By: | James A. Freeman (Wheaton College); Barry T. Hirsch (Trinity University and IZA) |
| Abstract: | College students select their majors for a variety of reasons, including expected returns in the labor market. This paper demonstrates an empirical method that links a census of U.S. degrees and fields of study with measures of the knowledge content of jobs. The study combines individual wage and employment data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) with ratings on 27 knowledge content areas from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), thus providing measures of the economy-wide knowledge content of jobs. Fields of study and the corresponding BA degree data from the Digest of Education Statistics for 1976- 77 through 2001-02 are linked to these 27 content areas. We find that the choice of college major is responsive to changes in the knowledge composition of jobs and, more problematically, the wage returns to types of knowledge. Women’s degree responsiveness to knowledge content appears to be stronger than men’s, but their response to wage returns is weak. |
| Keywords: | college majors, job knowledge content, occupations, O*NET, returns to schooling |
| JEL: | J24 I21 J31 |
| Date: | 2007–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2941&r=edu |
| By: | Hendrik Jürges; Kerstin Schneider (Mannheim Research Institute for the Economics of Aging (MEA)) |
| Abstract: | At the age of ten German pupils are given a secondary school track recommendation which largely determines the actual track choice. Track choice has major effects on the life course, mainly through labor market outcomes. Using data from the German PISA extension study, we analyze the effect of month of birth and thus relative age on such recommendations. We find that younger pupils are less often recommended to and actually attend Gymnasium, the most attractive track in terms of later life outcomes. Flexible enrolment and grade retention partly offset these inequalities and the relative age effect dissipates as students age. |
| Date: | 2007–07–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mea:meawpa:07138&r=edu |
| By: | José Luis Groizard (Universitat de les Illes Balears); Joan Llull (CEMFI) |
| Abstract: | We examine the empirical relationship between the migration rate of skilled workers and human capital formation in developing countries. In particular, we revisit Beine, Docquier and Rapoport (2007), who find evidence of an incentive effect. Our results suggest that an incentive effect is weak if not absent, since positive correlation among brain drain and human capital ex-ante is not robust to small changes in the specification. |
| Keywords: | brain drain, migration, education, incentives |
| JEL: | F22 J24 O15 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubi:deawps:28&r=edu |
| By: | Spyros Konstantopoulos (Northwestern University and IZA) |
| Abstract: | Given that previous findings on the social distribution of the effects of small classes have been mixed and inconclusive, in the present study I attempted to shed light on the mechanism through which small classes affect the achievement of low- and high-achieving students. I used data from a 4-year large-scale randomized experiment (project STAR) to examine the effects of small classes on the achievement gap. The sample consisted of nearly 11,000 elementary school students who participated in the experiment from kindergarten to grade 3. Meta-analysis and quantile regression methods were employed to examine the effects of small classes on the achievement gap in mathematics and reading SAT scores. The results consistently indicated that higher-achieving students benefited more from being in small classes in early grades than other students. The findings also indicated that although all types of students benefited from being in small classes, reductions in class size did not reduce the achievement gap between low and high achievers. |
| Keywords: | small classes, achievement variability, meta-analysis |
| JEL: | I2 |
| Date: | 2007–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2904&r=edu |
| By: | Jean-Christophe Dumont (OECD); John P. Martin (OECD and IZA); Gilles Spielvogel (OECD) |
| Abstract: | Two trends in international migration flows have attracted much attention recently: (i) the growing feminisation of migration flows; and (ii) the increasing selectivity of migration towards the highly skilled, which in turn has given rise to renewed concerns about the "brain drain" consequences for the sending countries. The two issues have not been considered jointly, however, mainly due to the lack of relevant data. This paper addresses this shortcoming by looking at the gender dimension of the brain drain, based on a new comparable data set that has been collected by the OECD and which allows us to identify people by country of residence, place of birth, gender and level of education. The evidence summarized in this paper shows that female migration to OECD countries has been increasing significantly in recent decades, so that migrant stocks are now more or less gender-balanced. A more surprising result is that this is also true for the highly skilled. Taking into account the fact that women still face an unequal access to tertiary education in many less developed countries, it appears that women are over-represented in the brain drain. This result is reinforced by econometric estimates showing that emigration of highly skilled women is higher, the poorer is their country of origin. This effect is also observed for men but to a lesser extent. It is not observed, however, at lower educational levels, where the traditional migration hump is identifiable. Econometric estimates also report a negative impact of emigration of highly skilled women on three key education and health indicators: infant mortality, under-5 mortality and secondary school enrolment rate by gender. These results raise concerns about a potentially significant negative impact of the female brain drain on the poorest countries. |
| Keywords: | international migration, gender dimension, brain drain |
| JEL: | F22 J16 J61 O15 |
| Date: | 2007–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2920&r=edu |
| By: | Magnus Gulbrandsen (Norwegian Institute for Studies in Research and Education - Centre for Innovation Research); Lars Nerdrum (Norwegian Institute for Studies in Research and Education - Centre for Innovation Research) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the relationship between universities and industry in Norway. Funding figures, publication and patent data, surveys and interviews all indicate that there has been a slow and steady increase in university-industry relations the last 20 years. In the 1980s we notice an increase in the share of industry funding of university R&D, and the 1990s saw a strong growth in PhD students finding work in firms. Many of these trends are seen all over the OECD areas, although there are large variations across disciplines, institutions and industries. Some evidence exists to suggest that Norwegian firms may be particularly collaborative when it comes to R&D and innovation. There are, however, also barriers to how close the cross-sector relations may become. For example, data on graduates’ transition to work indicate how the shorter-term expectations and needs of firms may be difficult to meet by the universities and colleges. |
| Date: | 2007–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tik:inowpp:20070613&r=edu |
| By: | Matthew Martin |
| Abstract: | This survey summarizes current research on financial literacy efforts. Because most financial literacy programs are relatively new, much of the literature reviewed here is also new and part of a field that is still developing as a program of research. However, we can conclude that financial education is necessary and that many existing approaches are effective. Among the findings are that some households make mistakes with personal finance decisions; mistakes are more common for low income and less educated households; there is a causal connection between increases in financial knowledge and financial behavior; and the benefits of financial education appear to span a number of areas including retirement planning, savings, homeownership, and credit use. |
| Keywords: | Financial literacy |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedrwp:07-03&r=edu |