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on Education |
| By: | Geamanu, Marinela (Universitatea Spiru Haret, Facultatea de Finante si Banci) |
| Abstract: | Economics education is circumscribe a multiplicative feedback through expansion, diversification, intensive interaction between the economy and education, as being in an economic perspective on education, along with sociological, psychological, technological, religious, family, public, etc. pespective, in other words, an application of economic theories, paradigms and approaches to economic education act, act deeply human, spiritual nature. In practice perspective, the economy has education as a central educational capital, dual component of human capital, the defining element, the immanence of work, the economy. |
| Keywords: | education; human capital; educational capital; socialization; investment in education |
| JEL: | A30 H52 |
| Date: | 2009–06–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:sphedp:2009_045&r=edu |
| By: | Gunnarsson, Victoria; Orazem, Peter; Sanchez, Mario; verdisco, Aimee |
| Abstract: | School autonomy and parental participation have been frequently proposed as ways of making schools more productive. Less clear is how governments can foster decentralized decision-making by local schools. This paper shows that across eight Latin-American countries, most of the variation in local control over school decisions exists within and not between countries. That implies that the exercise of local authority to manage schools is largely a local choice only modestly influenced by constitutional stipulations regarding jurisdiction over school personnel, curriculum and facilities. As a consequence, estimated impacts of local school autonomy, parental participation or school supplies on student performance must account for the endogeneity of local efforts to manage schools. Empirical tests confirm that local managerial effort by the principal and the parents and the adequacy of school supplies are strongly influenced by parental human capital and the size and remoteness of the community, and that these effects are only partially moderated by central policies regarding the locus of control over the schools. Correcting for endogeneity, parental participation and adequacy school supplies have strong positive effects on 4th grade test performance, but school autonomy has no discernable impact on school outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Autonomy, parental participaton, school inputs, achievement, test scores, education, Latin America |
| JEL: | I2 |
| Date: | 2009–06–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:13083&r=edu |
| By: | Teresa V. Heitor; José M. R. Freire da Silva |
| Abstract: | The aim of the Secondary School Modernisation Programme, being implemented in Portugal by Parque Escolar, EPE, is based on the pursuit of quality and makes Portuguese education a potential international benchmark. This paper discusses the strategies adopted to reorganise school spaces. It describes the conceptual model and highlights the solutions proposed for libraries, science teaching spaces and museum units. |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduaac:2009/6-en&r=edu |
| By: | W. Bentley MacLeod; Miguel Urquiola |
| Abstract: | Friedman (1962) argued that a free market in which schools compete based upon their reputation would lead to an efficient supply of educational services. This paper explores this issue by building a tractable model in which rational individuals go to school and accumulate skill valued in a perfectly competitive labor market. To this it adds one ingredient: school reputation in the spirit of Holmstrom (1982). The first result is that if schools cannot select students based upon their ability, then a free market is indeed efficient and encourages entry by high productivity schools. However, if schools are allowed to select on ability, then competition leads to stratification by parental income, increased transmission of income inequality, and reduced student effort---in some cases lowering the accumulation of skill. The model accounts for several (sometimes puzzling) findings in the educational literature, and implies that national standardized testing can play a key role in enhancing learning. |
| JEL: | D02 I2 J3 |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:15112&r=edu |
| By: | Parimala V Rao |
| Abstract: | This paper deals with the nationalist discourse in Maharashtra spanning over forty years. This discourse argued that educating women and non-Brahmins would amount to a loss of nationality. The nationalists,led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak during 1881-1920 consistently opposed the establishment of girls’ schools, the imparting of education to non-Brahmins, and implementing compulsory education. They were also instrumental in defeating the proposals to implement compulsory education in nine out of eleven municipalities. By demanding ‘National Education’, the nationalists sought to reshape the meaning and scope of compulsory education advocated by reformers, as their national education consisted of teaching the Dharmashastras and some technical skills. The important source for this paper is Tilak’s own writings in his paper, the Mahratta.[CWDS] |
| Keywords: | Maharashtrian society; pre-colonial; Hunter Commission; Nationalist Opposition; education; women's education; Rakhmabai; national education; womens university |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:2045&r=edu |
| By: | Popescu, Nicolae Iulian (CNSAS) |
| Abstract: | The relationship between education and employment, and school-to-work transitions has been the subject of substantial research over the last decade and has formed a large part of the European Union preocupations, but also for the Romanian authorities. High unemployment rates for youths have caused concern especially for our last nineteen years, leading researchers and policy-makers to focus more than ever first on the schoolto- work transition stage of young peoples lives, but also for the others categories, especially on the actual crisis. This research highlights the main role of the universities in the process. The dynamics of this brief study line focuses on the keys of adjusting the university education process to the real labour market functions and needs, and in particular on the role of increasing the number and the quality of skills as a simultaneous result of the university education level in this equation. The emphasis is on the analysis of, on the one hand, the structure of problems, and on the other hand, on solutions that can be tookover in order to positive influence the current and future of supply and demand, to meet the requires of the actual various Romanian labour market segments towards the knoledge-based society and economy. |
| Keywords: | economic crisis; education; skills; labor; knowledge-based economy; partnership between universities and private environment |
| JEL: | F23 |
| Date: | 2009–06–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:sphedp:2009_034&r=edu |
| By: | Barnett, Richard C; Bhattacharya, Joydeep; Puhakka, Mikko |
| Abstract: | There is a large body of evidence supporting the notion that a) those who grow up to be patient (forward-looking) do better in life compared to those who do not, and b) parents can inculcate the virtue of delayed gratification in their children by taking the right sort of actions. We study a dynamic model in which parents, for selfish reasons, invest resources to raise patient children. Patience raises the marginal return to human capital accumulation. The patient young do better in school, and hence, get more education but scrimp on investing in their own progeny's patience. This dynamic can generate intergenerational patience cycles. Generations coming of age with little patience will invest more in the productive capacity of their children, while those with greater patience invest more in their own productive capacity. |
| Keywords: | patience, delayed gratification, human capital |
| JEL: | E0 |
| Date: | 2009–06–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:13080&r=edu |
| By: | Gonzales, Naihobe (Georgia Tech); Uwaifo Oyelere, Ruth (Georgia Tech) |
| Abstract: | There is anecdotal evidence that the standard of living for the educated has fallen in Venezuela over the last few years. This evidence comes as a surprise because after experiencing an economic downturn in 2002 and 2003, Venezuela's economy has boomed (gross domestic product growth has hovered between 8 and 18%) in large part due to the increase in the price of petroleum. In this paper, we provide evidence that returns to education have decreased significantly in Venezuela from 2002 to 2008. More importantly, we focus on what has led to the decrease in returns. We explore a fall in quality and a supply-demand argument for this decline. Mission Sucre was enacted in September 2003 by President Hugo Chavez to provide free mass tertiary education, in particular targeting the poor and marginalized. The implementation of this program created a sudden increase in the supply of skilled labor and had a direct impact on quality of education. Although we do not claim that 100% of the decline between 2002 and 2008 can be linked to this program, we provide ample evidence that a good part of the falling returns can be linked to Mission Sucre. Specifically, we show that for a 1% increase in the share of Mission Sucre students in the state, returns to university level of education declined by about 5.6 percentage points between 2007 and 2008. |
| Keywords: | human capital, Venezuela, policy reform, returns to education, schooling |
| JEL: | J2 J24 J38 I21 O12 O15 |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4206&r=edu |
| By: | Pierre de Villiers (Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch) |
| Abstract: | In this analysis the expenditure (subsidy) on higher education institutions (HEIs) in South Africa is compared for 2000 and 2006. The analysis was done with headcounts of students as well as with full-time equivalent student numbers. A second method was followed where a distinction was made between the number of students enrolled in the social sciences and those enrolled in the natural sciences. It is found that Subsidies of the African, coloured and Indian students in general deteriorated slightly compared to the subsidy levels of whites. However, with the calculations for contact full-time equivalent students according to field of study it was found that either the other racial groups’ relative situation improved over time or they received higher subsidies than the white group. |
| Keywords: | Government subsidies, National government expenditure, Education |
| JEL: | H2 H5 I2 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sza:wpaper:wpapers85&r=edu |
| By: | Chen, Yuanyuan (Shanghai University of Finance and Economics); Feng, Shuaizhang (Princeton University) |
| Abstract: | Using nationally representative data in China, we find substantial positive partial correlations of both parents' education with one's wage. In addition, returns to father's education are higher in more monopsonistic and less meritocratic labor markets, including non-coastal regions, the state-owned sector, and the early periods of the reform era. The opposite is, however, true with respect to mother's education. Overall, the empirical evidence is consistent with the story that father's education mainly indicates family connections useful for locating a better-paying first job, while mother's education primarily captures unmeasured ability. |
| Keywords: | parental education, wages, family connections, unmeasured ability |
| JEL: | J30 J62 |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4218&r=edu |
| By: | Ferrall, Christopher; Natalia, Mishagina |
| Abstract: | Based on a survey of graduating PhD students in the U.S., we study the determinants of location of their first jobs. We consider how locating in Canada versus the U.S. for all graduates is influenced by both their background and timeÂ-varying factors that affect international mobility. We also study the choice of European graduates between North America and returning to Europe. We find that in many cases macro factors have the expected effect of choices after controlling for biases for home, which depend upon background variables in expected ways. |
| Keywords: | Doctoral Education, International Mobility, Brain Drain |
| JEL: | J6 J44 I2 |
| Date: | 2009–06–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:clssrn:clsrn_admin-2009-33&r=edu |
| By: | Barone, Adriana (University of Salerno); O'Higgins, Niall (University of Salerno) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we focus on the causes and consequences of adolescent obesity from an economic perspective. The paper examines the determinants of obesity and its role in influencing early school leaving amongst adolescents in the province of Salerno in Southern Italy. A simple human capital investment model is employed and this provides a framework within which to analyse the interrelated 'decisions' regarding schooling and overeating, taking into account the importance of time preference and the differential effects of adolescent obesity for males and females. We find that: a) there is a strong and robust positive effect of obesity on early school leaving; b) there are significant gender differences in the nature of this relationship; and, c) although not statistically significant, there is support for the idea that contextual factors – such as the type of school attended - are important in determining the effects of obesity on early school leaving. These findings have important policy implications. In particular, evidence on the positive causal link running from obesity to early school leaving suggests: i) that action aimed at reducing obesity – such as the encouragement of sporting activity - may also have beneficial effects in terms of reducing early school leaving rates; ii) the introduction of financial incentives to encourage educational participation; and, iii) the significant differences identified between young men and young women suggest the adoption of some gender- specific policy measures. |
| Keywords: | obesity, early school-leaving |
| JEL: | I12 I21 J13 |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4229&r=edu |
| By: | Choi, D.; Vries, H.J. de; Kim, D. (Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), RSM Erasmus University) |
| Abstract: | This paper stems from a research project carried out for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to make an inventory of national standards education policies. Twenty countries - sixteen Asia-Pacific economies and four European nations – have been investigated. The paper relates similarities and differences between these policies to the standardization education activities in place. The paper concludes with policy recommendations. |
| Keywords: | standards education;national standards strategy;policy development;APEC |
| Date: | 2009–06–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:eureri:1765016040&r=edu |
| By: | Pradeep Dubey (SUNY, Stonybrook); John Geanakoplos (Cowles Foundation, Yale University) |
| Abstract: | We introduce grading into games of status. Each player chooses effort, producing a stochastic output or score. Utilities depend on the ranking of all the scores. By clustering scores into grades, the ranking is coarsened, and the incentives to work are changed. We apply games of status to grading exams. Our main conclusion is that if students care primarily about their status (relative rank) in class, they are often best motivated to work not by revealing their exact numerical exam scores (100, 99, ...,1), but instead by clumping them into coarse categories (A,B,C). When student abilities are disparate, the optimal absolute grading scheme is always coarse. Furthermore, it awards fewer A’s than there are alpha-quality students, creating small elites. When students are homogeneous, we characterize optimal absolute grading schemes in terms of the stochastic dominance between student performances (when they shirk or work) on subintervals of scores, showing again why coarse grading may be advantageous. In both the disparate case and the homogeneous case, we prove that absolute grading is better than grading on a curve, provided student scores are independent. |
| Keywords: | Status, Grading, Incentives, Education, Exams |
| JEL: | C70 I20 I30 |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cwl:cwldpp:1710&r=edu |
| By: | O'Higgins, Niall (University of Salerno) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a unique survey of Roma and non-Roma in South Eastern Europe to evaluate competing explanations for the poor performance of Roma in the labour market. The analysis seeks to identify the determinants of educational achievement, employment and wages for Roma and non-Roma. LIML methods are employed to control for endogenous schooling and two sources of sample selection bias in the estimates. Nonlinear and linear decomposition techniques are applied in order to identify the extent of discrimination. The key results are that: the employment returns to education are lower for Roma than for non-Roma whilst the wage returns are broadly similar for the two groups; the similar wage gains translate into a smaller absolute wage gain for Roma than for non-Roma given their lower average wages; the marginal absolute gains from education for Roma are only a little over one-third of the marginal absolute gains to education for majority populations; and, there is evidence to support the idea that a substantial part of the differential in labour market outcomes is due to discrimination. Explanations of why Roma fare so badly tend to fall into one of two camps: 'low education' vs. 'discrimination'. The analysis suggests that both of these explanations have some basis in fact. Moreover, a direct implication of the lower absolute returns to education accruing to Roma is that their lower educational participation is, at least partially, due to rational economic calculus. Consequently, policy needs to address both low educational participation and labour market discrimination contemporaneously. |
| Keywords: | Roma, returns to education, discrimination, transition |
| JEL: | C35 J15 J24 P23 |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4208&r=edu |
| By: | Chi, Wei; Qian, Xiaoye |
| Abstract: | This study examines one of the channels through which education may contribute to economic growth, specifically, innovation. Endogenous growth theory has long suggested that human capital lead to greater innovation and, through technology innovation and diffusion, contribute to economic growth. However, there is little evidence on the role of human capital in innovation. Using the Chinese provincial data from 1997 to 2006, we show that workers’ tertiary education is significantly and positively related to provincial innovative activities measured by invention patent applications per capita. This result does not vary when spatial dependence is allowed in the estimation. Thus, we find strong and robust evidence for the prediction of endogenous growth theory regarding the effect of human capital on innovation. However, we do not find the consistently significant effect of innovation on growth. This finding may, however, relate to the growth pattern in China. |
| Keywords: | Education; Human Capital; Innovation; Paten; Economic Growth; Spatial Analysis |
| JEL: | O1 O3 |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:15779&r=edu |
| By: | Alastair Blyth |
| Abstract: | To get a picture of the impact of the current economic and financial crisis on educational building programmes so far, the OECD Centre for Effective Learning Environments (CELE) has been conducting a survey of member countries and regions. The survey focuses on three main issues: the impact of the crisis on publicly funded projects, the impact on projects funded by private finance initiatives or through a public-private partnership, and the extent to which the crisis has affected the construction industry’s ability to build schools. |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduaac:2009/5-en&r=edu |
| By: | Kotakorpi, Kaisa (University of Tampere); Poutvaara, Panu (University of Helsinki) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we estimate the effect of pay for politicians on who wants to be a politician. We take advantage of a considerable 35 percent salary increase of Finnish MPs in the year 2000, intended to make the pay for parliamentarians more competitive. A difference-indifferences analysis, using candidates in municipal elections as a control group, suggests that the higher salary had the intended effect among women, whether measured by education or occupational qualifications. We also examine cross-party differences. |
| Keywords: | pay for politicians, candidate selection, gender differences in politics |
| JEL: | D72 J3 J45 |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4235&r=edu |
| By: | Andrew Sharpe; Jean-François Arsenault; Fraser Cowan |
| Abstract: | Investing in disadvantaged young people is one of the rare public policies with no equity-efficiency tradeoff. Based on the methodology developed in Sharpe, Arsenault and Lapointe (2007), we estimate the effect of increasing the educational attainment level of Aboriginal Canadians on labour market outcome and output up to 2026. We build on these projection to estimate the potential effect of eliminating educational and social gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people on government spending and government revenues using population and economic projections to 2026. |
| Keywords: | Aboriginal, Education, Canada, Forecast of economic growth, Equity and efficiency. |
| JEL: | J10 J11 I29 E27 O11 O47 |
| Date: | 2009–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sls:resrep:0903&r=edu |
| By: | Costa, Maria Teresa; Carvalho, Luísa; Sardinha, Boguslawa |
| Abstract: | ABSTRACT Nowadays learning entrepreneurship in higher education became an important issue. International experiences promote the relationship between students from several countries in a multicultural context. In this sense it was developed an entrepreneurial game were tutors have the role to support students during the activities. The objective of entrepreneurial game objective is to create a business idea and develop a small business plan to present to the group. The general aim of this paper is to describe this international experience of Setúbal Business week. The specific goals are: Understand how students learning in an international environment; Understand how international multicultural groups function; Evaluate how this kind of game improve a set of competencies, such as entrepreneurial spirit, capacity to work in an international team, oral communication, creativity, confidence and research skills; Evaluate business week performance in order to improve future events. The study concludes with some recommendations and remarks about learning in an entrepreneurship in a multicultural environment. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurial Game; Multiculturalism; International Environment |
| JEL: | A20 I00 L26 |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:15840&r=edu |
| By: | Franco Sassi; Jody Church; Michele Cecchini; Francesca Borgonovi |
| Abstract: | An epidemic of obesity has been developing in virtually all OECD countries over the last 30 years. Existing evidence provides strong suggestions that such epidemic has affected certain social groups more than others. In particular, education appears to be associated with a lower likelihood of obesity, especially among women. A range of analyses of health survey data from Australia, Canada, England and Korea were undertaken with the aim of exploring the relationship between education and obesity. The findings of these analyses show a broadly linear relationship between the number of years spent in full-time education and the probability of obesity, with most educated individuals displaying lower rates of the condition (the only exception being men in Korea). This suggests that marginal returns to education, in terms of reduction in obesity rates, are approximately constant throughout the education spectrum. The findings obtained confirm that the education gradient in obesity is stronger in women than in men. Differences between genders are minor in Australia and Canada, more pronounced in England and major in Korea. The causal nature of the link between education and obesity has not yet been proven with certainty; however, using data from France we were able to ascertain that the direction of causality appears to run mostly from education to obesity, as the strength of the association is only minimally affected when accounting for reduced educational opportunities for those who are obese in young age. Most of the effect of education on obesity is direct. Small components of the overall effect of education on obesity are mediated by an improved socio-economic status linked to higher levels of education, and by a higher level of education of other family members, associated with an individual’s own level of education. The positive effect of education on obesity is likely to be determined by at least three factors: (a) greater access to health-related information and improved ability to handle such information; (b) clearer perception of the risks associated with lifestyle choices; and, (c) improved self-control and consistency of preferences over time. However, it is not just the absolute level of education achieved by an individual that matters, but also how such level of education compares with that of the individual’s peers. The higher the individual’s education relative to his or her peers’, the lower is the probability of the individual being obese.<P>Éducation et obésité dans quatre pays de l’OCDE<BR>Une épidémie d’obésité est en train de s’étendre dans presque tous les pays de l’OCDE depuis les 30 dernières années. Les preuves existantes suggèrent fortement qu’une telle épidémie a davantage affecté certains groupes sociaux que d’autres. En particulier, l’éducation paraît être associée à une plus faible probabilité d’obésité, notamment chez les femmes. Une série d’analyses de données d’enquête de santé concernant l’Australie, le Canada, l’Angleterre et la Corée a été menée dans le but d’explorer la relation entre l’éducation et l’obésité. Les résultats de ces analyses montrent une relation généralement linéaire entre le nombre d’années d’éducation à plein temps et la probabilité d’obésité, les individus les plus éduqués ayant de plus bas taux d’obésité (la seule exception étant les hommes en Corée). Ceci suggère que les rendements marginaux de l’éducation, en termes de réduction des taux d’obésité, sont approximativement constants quelque soit le nombre d’années d’éducation. Les résultats obtenus confirment que le gradient d’obésité selon le niveau d’éducation est plus fort chez les femmes que chez les hommes. Les différences entre les genres sont faibles en Australie et au Canada, plus prononcées en Angleterre et importantes en Corée. La nature causale du lien entre l’éducation et l’obésité n’a pas encore été prouvée avec certitude ; cependant, en utilisant des données françaises, nous avons pu établir que le sens de la causalité semble aller de l’éducation vers l’obésité, puisque la force de l’association est faiblement affectée quand on tient compte d’une moindre éducation pour ceux qui sont obèses aux jeunes âges. La plupart des effets de l’éducation sur l’obésité sont directs. De petites composantes de l’effet total de l’éducation sur l’obésité sont médiées par un meilleur statut socio-économique lié à des niveaux d’éducation plus élevés, et par un meilleur niveau d’éducation des autres membres de la famille, associé au niveau d’éducation propre à l’individu. Il est probable que l’effet positif de l’éducation sur l’obésité soit déterminé par au moins trois facteurs : (a) un meilleur accès à l’information liée à la santé et une meilleure capacité à utiliser une telle information ; (b) une perception plus claire des risques associés aux choix de vie ; et, (c) un meilleur contrôle de soi et une cohérence des préférences dans le temps. Cependant, ce n’est pas seulement le niveau absolu de l’éducation acquis par un individu qui importe, mais aussi comment un tel niveau d’éducation se place par rapport à celui de l’entourage de l’individu. Plus le niveau d’éducation relatif à son entourage est élevé, plus faible est la probabilité que l’individu soit obèse. |
| Keywords: | education, éducation, obesity, obésité |
| JEL: | I12 I21 |
| Date: | 2009–06–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:elsaad:46-en&r=edu |
| By: | Christoph M. Schmidt; Michael Fertig; Mathias G. Sinning |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether and to what extent demographic change has an impact on human capital accumulation. The effect of the relative cohort size on educational attainment of young adults in Germany is analyzed utilizing data from the German Socio-Economic Panel forWest-German individuals of the birth cohorts 1966 to 1986. These are the cohorts which entered the labor market since the 1980’s. Particular attention is paid to the effect of changes in labor market conditions, which constitute an important channel through which demographic change may affect human capital accumulation. Our findings suggest that the variables measuring demographic change exert a considerable though heterogeneous impact on the human capital accumulation of young Germans. Changing labor market conditions during the 1980’s and 1990’s exhibit a sizeable impact on both the highest schooling and the highest professional degree obtained by younger cohorts. |
| Keywords: | Demographic change, schooling, vocational training |
| JEL: | J11 J24 C25 |
| Date: | 2009–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rwi:repape:0107&r=edu |
| By: | Gerhard Glomm (Department of Economics, Indiana University, Bloomington); Juergen Jung (Department of Economics, Towson University); Changmin Lee (Department of Economics, Indiana University, Bloomington); Chung Tran (School of Economics, University of New South Wales) |
| Abstract: | In many emerging economies pension programs of public sector workers are more generous than pension programs of private sector workers. In this paper we investigate public pension reforms that improve efficiency and welfare by reallocating government resources from non-productive public pensions to productive public education and infrastructure investments. We argue that the opportunity costs of running generous public pension schemes for civil servants are potentially large in emerging economies that often suffer from low public investments in education and infrastructure. In addition, we quantitfy the savings distortions as well as the tax distortions from running a generous public pension program. Calculating transitions to the post-reform steady state, we find that welfare losses for the generation born before the reform are offset by welfare gains by the generations born after the reform. |
| Keywords: | Social Security Reform; Generous Public Sector Pensions; Capital Accumulation; Public Education and Infrastructure Investments |
| JEL: | E62 H41 H55 |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:swe:wpaper:2009-10&r=edu |
| By: | Aghion, Ph.; Askenazy, Ph.; Bourlès, R.; Cette, G.; Dromel, N. |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effects of the education level, product market rigidities and employment protection legislation on growth. It exploits macro-panel data for OECD countries. For countries close to the technological frontier, education and rigidities are significantly related to TFP growth. The contribution of the interaction between product market regulation and labour market rigidity seems particularly substantial. |
| Keywords: | Productivity ; Growth ; Regulations ; Market Rigidities ; Education |
| JEL: | O47 J24 J68 L40 O57 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bfr:banfra:229&r=edu |
| By: | Amodio, Francesco |
| Abstract: | Evidence suggests the average ability of teachers to have progressively declined in developed countries over the last decades. Many explanations have been proposed, all suggesting the idea of a lower attractiveness of teaching professions (both in monetary and non monetary terms) with respect to feasible alternative working opportunities. This should apply to women at least, because of the great expansion of job opportunities which interested female cohorts in the second half of the century. However, the long lasting problem of getting credible ability measures has often driven partial results. Here two UK population samples of individuals born in different years are considered. Individuals were exposed to ability tests at early stages of their life, so that subsequent education paths are exogenous to test scores. Transformation in percentiles allows to get comparable measures of ability, and distributions for those who undertook the teaching career are obtained in the two samples. Consistently with previous literature, using difference-in-difference, we find evidence of teachers quality decline. A gender based analysis is performed in order to address gender differences and specific questions. Data on salaries, ditributions across jobs and social mobility are finally used in order to find possible explanations. Further questions arise. |
| Keywords: | teachers quality; ability measure; NCDS; BCS; difference in difference; social mobility |
| JEL: | J08 J45 I2 J0 J16 |
| Date: | 2009–06–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:15796&r=edu |
| By: | Di Pietro, Giorgio (University of Westminster) |
| Abstract: | Given that a growing number of countries have abolished or are considering the abolition of military conscription, understanding the consequences of this measure is of increased importance. In this paper we study the effect of the suppression of compulsory military service on university enrolment in Italy using double and triple differences models. The empirical results show that there is no compelling evidence suggesting that the abolition of military conscription has a causal effect on university enrolment. However, although there is no significant overall effect, we find some evidence of heterogeneous effects. While this measure seems to increase university participation among individuals from more advantaged backgrounds, it appears to have a detrimental effect on the enrolment of those from less advantaged backgrounds. |
| Keywords: | compulsory military service, university enrolment |
| JEL: | I20 J24 |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4212&r=edu |
| By: | Jonathan Meer (Stanford University); Harvey S. Rosen (Princeton University) |
| Abstract: | One justification offered for legacy admissions policies at universities is that that they bind entire families to the university. Proponents maintain that these policies have a number of benefits, including increased donations from members of these families. We use a rich set of data from an anonymous selective research institution to investigate which types of family members have the most important effect upon donative behavior. We find that the effects of attendance by members of the younger generation (children, children-in-law, nieces and nephews) are greater than the effects of attendance by older generations (parents, parents-in-law, aunts and uncles). Previous research has indicated that, in a variety of contexts, men and women differ in their altruistic behavior. However, we find that there are no statistically discernible differences between men and women in the way their donations depends on the alumni status of various types of relatives. Neither does the gender of the various types of relatives who attended the uni-versity seem to matter. Thus, for example, the impact of having a son attend the university is no different from the effect of a daughter. |
| Date: | 2009–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pri:cepsud:1163&r=edu |
| By: | Hynninen S (University of Jyvaskyla) |
| Abstract: | The study examines how the job competition among the highly educated affects their wages in regional labour markets. We estimate individual-level wage curves separately for graduates and post-graduates and divide the job competition in unemployed and employed job search by level of education. The study does not find a wage curve for the highly educated in Finland. The results indicate that the dynamics of the market apparent in the increased employed job search creates more job opportunities for the graduates in the private sector, while declining the opportunities of both the graduates and the postgraduates in the municipality sector. |
| Date: | 2009–06–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:iserwp:2009-17&r=edu |
| By: | Donald Siegel (School of Business University at Albany, SUNY); Charles Wessner (Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy National Research Council) |
| Abstract: | There has been little direct, systematic empirical analysis of the role that universities play in enhancing the success of entrepreneurial ventures. We attempt to fill this gap by analyzing data from the SBIR program, a set-aside program that requires key federal agencies (e.g., Department of Defense) to allocate 2.5 percent of their research budget to small firms that attempt to commercialize new technologies. Based on estimation of Tobit and negative binomial regressions of the determinants of commercial success, we find that start-ups with closer ties to universities achieve higher levels of performance. |
| JEL: | M13 O31 O32 O38 |
| Date: | 2009–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jms:wpaper:1&r=edu |