|
on Education |
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Issue of 2011‒08‒09
fourteen papers chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao University of Beira Interior and Technical University of Lisbon |
| By: | Masakazu Hojo |
| Abstract: | Education production functions are estimated using student-level achievement data for Japanese students, with emphasis on estimating the causal effect of class size on students' academic performance. The empirical results show that students‟ test scores are strongly affected by individual and family backgrounds, whereas school resource variables and teacher characteristics have a more limited impact. The causal effect of class size, which is currently being politically debated in Japan, is investigated using a regression discontinuity design. The estimation results suggest that class-size reduction has a weak impact on the academic performance of Japanese students. |
| Keywords: | Education production function, Class size, Regression discontinuity design, Japan |
| JEL: | I21 I28 |
| Date: | 2011–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hst:ghsdps:gd11-194&r=edu |
| By: | Nicolas Hérault (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne); Rezida Zakirova (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne) |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the literature by separately analysing the signalling (or sheepskin) effects of the enrolment in and the completion of vocational education and training as well as higher education. Moreover, we investigate the persistence of these sheepskin effects over time. We take advantage of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth, which contains comprehensive information about completed and uncompleted courses and subsequent labour market outcomes. We find that signalling effects form a substantial part of the total return to education but that they vary by type of course. In addition, we show that both course attendance and course completion contribute to the overall signalling effects. |
| Keywords: | Return to education, signalling effects, post-secondary education |
| JEL: | I20 J31 |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2011n04&r=edu |
| By: | Cuong, Nguyen Viet; Mont, Daniel |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effect of parental disability on school enrollment and educational performance for children in the 2006 Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey. Results from instrumental-variables regressions indicate that children of parents with a disability have a lower enrollment rate in primary and secondary school of about 8 percentage points: 73 percent compared with 81 percent. However, the association of parental disability with educational performance is small and not statistically significant. The conclusion of the paper is that to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary school as well as increased coverage of secondary education, the government should have policies and programs that either directly support the education of children with disabled parents and/or have policies that support disabled adults, thus lessening the incentive for their children not to attend school. |
| Keywords: | Disability,Primary Education,Gender and Law,Education For All,Youth and Governance |
| Date: | 2011–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5743&r=edu |
| By: | David Black (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne); Cain Polidano (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne); Yi-Ping Tseng (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne) |
| Abstract: | By OECD standards, the share of the Australian labour force with at least a secondary school qualification is low. One way to rectify this shortfall is to improve rates of re-engagement in education among early school leavers. This paper examines the patterns of re-engagement among early school leavers in the HILDA sample. A key finding is that the early years after leaving school are crucially important, with rates of re-engagement dropping dramatically in the first three years out from school. For those who enter the labour market after school, results suggest that finding work, especially satisfying work, is an important driver for returning to study. |
| Keywords: | Early school leavers, vocational education and training, re-engaging in education |
| JEL: | J01 I21 |
| Date: | 2011–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2011n13&r=edu |
| By: | Fredriksson, Peter (Stockholm University); Öckert, Björn (IFAU); Oosterbeek, Hessel (University of Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the long-term effects of class size in primary school. We use rich administrative data from Sweden and exploit variation in class size created by a maximum class size rule. Smaller classes in the last three years of primary school (age 10 to 13) are not only beneficial for cognitive test scores at age 13 but also for non-cognitive scores at that age, for cognitive test scores at ages 16 and 18, and for completed education and wages at age 27 to 42. The estimated effect on wages is much larger than any indirect (imputed) estimate of the wage effect, and is large enough to pass a cost-benefit test. |
| Keywords: | educational attainment, non-cognitive skills, cognitive skills, regression discontinuity, class size, earnings |
| JEL: | I21 I28 J24 C31 |
| Date: | 2011–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5879&r=edu |
| By: | Marcelo Knobel |
| Abstract: | It is estimated that approximately 3 million students are enrolled as international students, and it is possible to project that this number may reach more than 7 million by 2025. As global demand exceeds the supply, competition is building for the best of these students. Some countries (or regions) clearly envisage the opportunity this represents and have been strongly stimulating student mobility. There is a race for “brainsâ€, be it for professors at the end of their careers looking for new professional opportunities and/or the opportunity to return to their native countries, or for researchers at the beginning of their careers, looking for a place that might offer them a better future, or even for students, who seek more appealing alternatives. How will Brazil fare in this competition for talent? If it is to internationalize its higher education study programs, Brazil must deal with a number of practical problems, including a lack of specific policies and guidelines. Bureaucracy, for instance, is one major problem. A foreigner who comes to live in Brazil faces many obstacles, mainly due to the bureaucracy involved in everything from getting a Visa through the Federal Police office, to opening up a bank account, renting an apartment, registering at school, amongst many other processes and regulations that make it difficult for anyone to come and live in Brazil. One rarely finds a course offered in English or Spanish in a Brazilian university and the selection of faculty are normally held in Portuguese. Currently, there are no plans or projects at either the federal or state level, to address these obstacles. This should be a major concern to all who hold positions of responsibility in the educational process, as Brazil is not keeping pace with higher education reforms found globally. The internationalization movement is growing, and Brazil must actively seek reforms to keep pace with economic competitors. |
| Keywords: | Education |
| Date: | 2011–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:cshedu:2127975&r=edu |
| By: | Malwina Mejer |
| Abstract: | Intensification of university-industry interactions raises concerns about the potential negative impact it may have on the pace of scientific progress. This paper analyzes the relationship between academic patenting, research collaboration and quality of scientic output in a panel of 268 patenting and non-patenting life-science researchers from five universities in Belgium. Results suggest that scientists benefit from research collaboration with industry as witnessed by higher productivity and higher annual citation frequencies. Patenting positively correlates with higher quality of scientific output, except when industry is directly involved in the patenting process. In contrast to previous studies we do not end a positive relationship between patenting and citations. |
| Keywords: | patenting; scientific publication; quality; collaboration |
| JEL: | I21 I23 O33 O34 |
| Date: | 2011–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/93568&r=edu |
| By: | Herrera, Santiago; Badr, Karim |
| Abstract: | The paper estimates the rates of return to investment in education in Egypt, allowing for multiple sources of heterogeneity across individuals. The paper finds that, in the period 1998-2006, returns to education increased for workers with higher education, but fell for workers with intermediate education levels; the relative wage of illiterate workers also fell in the period. This change can be explained by supply and demand factors. On the supply side, the number workers with intermediate education, as well as illiterate ones, outpaced the growth of other categories joining the labor force during the decade. From the labor demand side, the Egyptian economy experienced a structural transformation by which sectors demanding higher-skilled labor, such as financial intermediation and communications, gained importance to the detriment of agriculture and construction, which demand lower-skilled workers. In Egypt, individuals are sorted into different educational tracks, creating the first source of heterogeneity: those that are sorted into the general secondary-university track have higher returns than those sorted into vocational training. Second, the paper finds that large-firm workers earn higher returns than small-firm workers. Third, females have larger returns to education. Female government workers earn similar wages as private sector female workers, while male workers in the private sector earn a premium of about 20 percent on average. This could lead to higher female reservation wages, which could explain why female unemployment rates are significantly higher than male unemployment rates. Formal workers earn higher rates of return to education than those in the informal sector, which did not happen a decade earlier. And finally, those individuals with access to technology (as proxied by personal computer ownership) have higher returns. |
| Keywords: | Access&Equity in Basic Education,Teaching and Learning,Education For All,Primary Education,Labor Markets |
| Date: | 2011–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5740&r=edu |
| By: | Frenette, Marc |
| Abstract: | It is well documented that Aboriginal people generally have lower levels of educational attainment than other groups in Canada, but little is known about the reasons behind this gap. This study is the first of two by the same author investigating the issue in detail. This initial paper focuses on one potential reason for differences in educational attainment between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal individuals: the possibility that Aboriginal individuals reap fewer labour market benefits from additional schooling than do their non-Aboriginal counterparts. The results of this analysis, which is based on the 2006 Census of Population, show that additional schooling is generally associated with a larger decline in the probability of being unemployed for Aboriginal people compared to non-Aboriginal people. In terms of wages and salaries, additional schooling generally yields about the same benefits for both groups. The results hold whether Aboriginal people live off-reserve, on-reserve, or in northern communities. There is also no evidence that Aboriginal people who eventually choose to pursue further education following high school are a more select group than their non-Aboriginal counterparts in terms of academic performance; this suggests that the results in this study are not likely to be explained by self-selection. Furthermore, there is little evidence that perceptions of the benefits to schooling are any different for Aboriginal youth than for non-Aboriginal youth. These findings suggest that the labour market benefits to schooling are not likely to be a factor behind the lower levels of educational attainment among Aboriginal people. |
| Keywords: | Educational attainment, Labour market outcomes, Aboriginal |
| JEL: | J15 |
| Date: | 2011–07–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:clssrn:clsrn_admin-2011-17&r=edu |
| By: | Elena Del Rey; Maria Racionero |
| Abstract: | We consider risk-averse individuals who differ in two characteristics - ability to benefit from education and inherited wealth - and analyze higher education participation under two alternative financing schemes - tax subsidy and (risk-sharing) income-contingent loans. With decreasing absolute risk aversion, wealthier individuals are more likely to undertake higher education despite the fact that, according to the stylized financing schemes we consider, individuals do not pay any up-front financial cost of education. We then determine which financing scheme arises when individuals are allowed to vote between schemes. We show that the degree of risk aversion plays a crucial role in determining which financing scheme obtains a majority, and that the composition of the support group for each financing scheme can be of two different types. |
| JEL: | H52 I22 D72 |
| Date: | 2011–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:acb:cbeeco:2011-549&r=edu |
| By: | Riddell, W. Craig; Song, Xueda |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the causal effects of education on individuals’ transitions between employment and unemployment, with particular focus on the extent to which education improves re-employment outcomes among unemployed workers. Given that positive correlations between education and labour force transitions are likely to be confounded by the endogeneity of education, we make use of data on compulsory schooling laws and child labour laws as well as conscription risk in the Vietnam War period to create instrumental variables to identify the causal relationships. Results indicate that education significantly increases re-employment rates of the unemployed. Particularly large impacts are found in the neighborhoods of 12 and 16 years of schooling. Evidence on the impact of formal schooling on unemployment incidence is mixed. |
| Keywords: | education, labour market transitions, unemployment, causal effects, compulsory schooling laws, child labour laws, Vietnam War draft |
| JEL: | I20 J64 |
| Date: | 2011–07–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:clssrn:clsrn_admin-2011-18&r=edu |
| By: | Costas Meghir (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Yale University); Mårten Palme (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University of Stockholm); Marieke Schnabel |
| Abstract: | <p>The Swedish comprehensive school reform implied an extension of the number of years of compulsory school from 7 or 8 to 9 for the entire nation and was implemented as a social experiment by municipality between 1949 and 1962. A previous study (Meghir and Palme, 2005) has shown that this reform significantly increased the number of years of schooling as well as labor earnings of the children who went through the post reform </p><p>school system, in particular for individuals originating from homes with low educated fathers. This study estimates the impact of the reform on criminal behavior: both within the generation directly affected by the reform as well as their children. We use census data on all born in Sweden between 1945 and 1955 and all their children merged with individual register data on all convictions between 1981 and 2008. We find a significant inverse effect of the reform on criminal behavior of men and on sons to fathers who went through the new school system.</p> |
| Date: | 2011–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:11/11&r=edu |
| By: | Jean Bonnet, University of Caen Basse-Normandie, France - CREM-CNRS; Thomas Brau, University of Caen Basse-Normandie, France - CREM-CNRS; Bernard Cadet, University of Caen Basse-Normandie, France - CREM-CNRS; Antonia Guijarro Madrid, Technical University of Cartagena (UPCT), Spain |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to present a {proposal to make students sensitive to entrepreneurship} aiming at familiarizing students to the setting up of new firms and stimulating such a course of action. This {{awareness campaign}} would take place during the student's curriculum and rest on a simulation exercise. This campaign is based on the results of a survey conducted at the Technical University of Cartagena (Spain). This study has identified some students’ aspirations to salaried employment and entrepreneurship. This survey also recognized some specific features that the campaign must integrate, in particular the need to make entrepreneurship compatible with the preparation for salaried employment. The results of this study are completed comparing them with the opinion from entrepreneurs of the same region. This comparison highlights some barriers to entrepreneurship among the students population, making it possible to complete the content of the proposed simulation exercise. This paper also highlights the absence of barriers of a psychological nature usually put forward by the literature, such as a low level of the {need for achievement or the propensity for risk-taking}. |
| Keywords: | career, company, entrepreneurship, making sensitive, student |
| JEL: | L26 |
| Date: | 2011–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tut:cremwp:201103&r=edu |
| By: | Caetano, Gregorio; Patrinos, Harry A.; Palacios, Miguel |
| Abstract: | This paper reports the results of an experiment designed to test for the presence of debt aversion. The population who participated in the experiment were recent financial aid candidates and the experiment focused on student loans. The goal is to shed new light on different aspects of the perceptions with respect to debt. These perceptions can prevent agents from choosing an optimal portfolio or from undertaking attractive investment opportunities, such as in education. The study design disentangles two types of debt aversion: one that is studied in the previous literature, which encompasses both framing and labeling effects, and another that controls for framing effects and identifies only what we denote labeling debt aversion. The results suggest that participants in the experiment exhibit debt aversion, and most of the debt aversion is due to labeling effects. Labeling a contract as a"loan"'decreases its probability of being chosen over a financially equivalent contract by more than 8 percent. The analysis also provides evidence that students are willing to pay a premium of about 4 percent of the financed value to avoid a contract labeled as debt. |
| Keywords: | Access to Finance,Debt Markets,Bankruptcy and Resolution ofFinancial Distress,Economic Theory&Research,Tertiary Education |
| Date: | 2011–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5737&r=edu |