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on Education |
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Issue of 2013‒01‒07
twelve papers chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao University of Beira Interior and Technical University of Lisbon |
| By: | Sergio Urzua (University of Maryland); Tomas Rau (Universidad Católica de Chile) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we estimate a structural model of sequential decision of higher education and dropout to evaluate the impact of short-term credit constraint on dropouts. In particular, we analyze the impact on dropouts of the State Guaranteed Credit program (CAE) the most important funding program for higher education in Chile. The model allows for heterogeneity in observable and unobservable individual characteristics (Heckman et al. 2006) and controls for selectivity. Our data combine different sources of information, including individual data from standardized tests scores (PSU), higher education enrollment and unemployment insurance system (UI) data. The results show the important role of the abilities of individuals on educational choice. Individuals with higher ability tend to enroll in universities and not to drop out (sorting on ability). We show that household income and access to credit influence the probability of dropping out. Specifically, the results suggest that CAE has a positive impact on reducing the dropouts from higher education, where the program reduces the first year dropout rate in 15.5% for those enrolled in a university and a 24% for enrolled in a Center or Technical Formation (CFT) and Professional Institute (IP). We also found that the CAE is more effective in reducing the probability of dropping out for low-skill individuals from low-income families. However, our results show that CAE beneficiaries have lower wages than those who are not beneficiaries (even after controlling for characteristics, ability and selectivity bias). We attribute this to a incentive problems in the design of CAE which may lead to higher education institutions to reduce the quality of education. The evidence then calls to revise the design of CAE. |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed012:228&r=edu |
| By: | Thomas Breda; Son Thierry Ly |
| Abstract: | Stereotypes, role models played by teachers and social norms influence girls' academic self-concept and push girls to choose humanities rather than science. Do recruiters reinforce this strong selection by discriminating more against girls in more scientific subjects? Using the entrance exam of a French higher education institution (the Ecole Normale Supérieure) as a natural experiment, we show the opposite: discrimination goes in favor of females in more male-connoted subjects (e.g. math, philosophy) and in favor of males in more female-connoted subjects (e.g. literature, biology), inducing a rebalancing of sex ratios between students recruited for a research career in science and humanities majors. We identify discrimination by systematic differences in students' scores between oral tests (non-blind toward gender) and anonymous written tests (blind toward gender). By making comparisons of these oral/written scores differences between different subjects for a given student, we are able to control both for a student's ability in each subject and for her overall ability at oral exams. The mechanisms likely to drive this positive discrimination toward the minority gender are also discussed. |
| Keywords: | discrimination, gender stereotypes, natural experiment, sex and science |
| JEL: | I23 J16 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepcnp:386&r=edu |
| By: | Pierre André; Jean-Luc Demonsant (THEMA, Universite de Cergy-Pontoise and THEMA; EPS/INSTEAD) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the substitution between formal education and informal religious education for Senegalese households. We use the timing of the opening of formal schools to estimate whether Koranic and formal education systems compete for the children’s time. Adapting the diff-in-diff strategy in Duflo (2001), we assess the effect of school openings on Koranic and formal schooling. Our estimates show that formal school openings increase formal education attainment, especially in rural areas. Incidentally, this result highlights the lack of primary schools in rural areas : an additional primary school increases the probability to start primary school by 13 percentage points around this school. We then estimate that an additional formal school decreases the time spent in Koranic schools. This proves that, while both school systems are independent in terms of organization and pedagogical content, they still compete for the children’s time. This might increase the opportunity cost of formal primary school, and can narrow the political consensus around universal primary education. |
| Keywords: | Koranic Schools, School demand, Senegal |
| JEL: | D12 I28 O12 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ema:worpap:2012-46&r=edu |
| By: | Stephan Kampelmann; François Rycx |
| Abstract: | We provide first evidence regarding the direct impact of educational mismatch on firm productivity. To do so, we rely on representative linked employer-employee panel data for Belgium covering the period 1999-2006. Controlling for simultaneity issues, time-invariant unobserved workplace characteristics, cohort effects and dynamics in the adjustment process of productivity, we find that: i) a higher level of required education exerts a significantly positive influence on firm productivity, ii) additional years of over-education (both among young and older workers) are beneficial for firm productivity, and iii) additional years of under-education (among young workers) are detrimental for firm productivity. |
| Keywords: | Educational mismatch; Productivity; Linked panel data; GMM |
| JEL: | I21 J24 |
| Date: | 2012–12–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/135592&r=edu |
| By: | Robert Bifulco; Jason M. Fletcher; Sun Jung Oh; Stephen L. Ross |
| Abstract: | Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examines the impact of high school cohort composition on the educational and labor market outcomes of individuals during their early 20s and again during their late 20s and early 30s. We find that the positive effects of having more high school classmates with a college educated mother on college attendance in the years immediately following high school fade out as students reach their later 20s and early 30s, and are not followed by comparable effects on college completion and labor market outcomes. |
| JEL: | I21 I24 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18648&r=edu |
| By: | Daghbashyan, Zara (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology); Hårsman, Björn (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims at shedding light upon the impact of universities on graduates’ entrepreneurial choice. Previous studies (Dale and Krueger, 2002, Brand and Halaby, 2006, McGuinness, 2003) have analyzed the relationship between the choice of university and labor market success of graduates in terms of their subsequent wages, employability or over-education, whereas the possible link between the choice of university and entrepreneurial choice has been neglected.Using 1998-2008 data on graduates from Swedish higher education institutions (HEI), the paper finds significant variation in the impact of universities on the career choice of graduates. The results suggest that graduates with degrees in the social sciences, natural sciences, medicine and teacher education from more prestigious universities systematically differ from others in their entrepreneurial choice. At the same time, no statistically significant difference is found for technical science graduates. |
| Keywords: | universities; education; entrepreneurship; graduates |
| JEL: | L26 M53 M54 |
| Date: | 2012–12–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0292&r=edu |
| By: | Björklund, Anders (SOFI, Stockholm University); Jäntti, Markus (SOFI, Stockholm University); Nybom, Martin (SOFI, Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | Research on intergenerational income mobility has shown stronger persistence between parental and offspring's income in the UK than in Sweden. We use similar data sets for the two countries to explore whether these cross-national differences show up already early in offspring's life in outcomes such as birth weight, grades at the end of compulsory school at age 16, height during adolescence, and final educational attainment. We do indeed find significant country differences in the association between parental income and these outcomes, and the associations are stronger in the UK than in Sweden. Therefore, we continue to investigate whether these differentials are large enough to account for a substantial part of the difference in intergenerational persistence estimates. We then conclude that the country differences in the intergenerational associations in birth weight and height are too weak to account for hardly any fraction of the UK-Sweden difference in intergenerational income mobility. For the more traditional human-capital variables grades and final education, however, our results suggest that the country differences can account for a substantial part of the difference in income persistence. |
| Keywords: | intergenerational mobility, birth weight, height, human capital |
| JEL: | J24 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7066&r=edu |
| By: | Hamanaka, Shintaro (Asian Development Bank) |
| Abstract: | On the one hand, trade in tertiary education is highly regulated; on the other hand, it is a considerably liberalized area of services. This is especially true in the case of Mode 3 of international services trade, namely oversea campuses. In the case of Japan, foreign universities are/were free to open campuses in Japan to supply tertiary education services, but those were regarded informal education that was not recognized by the Japanese government until 2004. For campuses in Japan established by foreign universities to supply formal education services in Japan, they are required to satisfy the criteria set by the government to be examined by the University Council and the Minister; but no foreign university campus in Japan actually obtained a formal school status. Moreover, program at the campuses in Japan were not regarded as an equivalent to the program provided at the home campuses abroad. It was only in 2004 when the Japanese government introduced a new scheme called “Japanese Branches of Foreign Universities”, under which they can receive the treatment similar to formal Japanese universities except taxation, though only four campuses obtained this status so far. This paper reviews the development of regulatory status of services trade in tertiary education services, especially education through oversea campuses, and considers the policy implications on two critical issues regarding the regulation of services industry: (i) who between the government and the University Council the regulator is; and (ii) who between the home country and host country has the jurisdiction over the oversea branches of universities. |
| Keywords: | Trade in services; education services; overseas campus; regulations; banking |
| JEL: | F19 L80 L88 |
| Date: | 2012–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbrei:0103&r=edu |
| By: | Martin Gustafsson (Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch) |
| Abstract: | In South Africa, like in many developing countries, the differences between enrolment totals, estimated by the education authorities, and the numbers of children in the country, estimated by demographers in the national statistical agency, defy easy explanations and suggest that one or both sets of statistics are inaccurate. In South Africa the gap between the two sets of estimates is substantially larger than one would expect. The typical reasons that have been found to underlie developing country data problems of this kind are discussed and their applicability to the South African data is investigated, using a variety of data sources. It is found that not clarifying the reasons behind the data discrepancies and not making necessary adjustments lead to distortions in commonly cited international development indicators that are not insignificant. It is demonstrated that analysing the various possible reasons for unexplained gaps between enrolment and population aggregates can reveal patterns that are in general useful for education planning. For instance, comparing the educational attainment of adults to enrolment patterns for children in the household data can help to gauge the extent to which the child enrolment responses are subject to typical upward biases. The analysis as a whole highlights the importance of collaboration between the education authorities and national statistical agencies to improve data collection and imputation techniques on both sides. |
| Keywords: | population estimates, school enrolment, enrolment ratios, household surveys, gross enrolment ratio |
| JEL: | D19 I21 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sza:wpaper:wpapers176&r=edu |
| By: | Sayantan Ghosh Dastidar; Sushil Mohan; Monojit Chatterji |
| Abstract: | The paper reviews the theoretical and the empirical case for public investment in education in India. Though the theoretical literature provides a backing for such a policy, the empirical literature fails to find a robust relation between education expenditure and growth. Expenditure on education is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for growth. It seems that the effectiveness of education expenditure depends on the institutional and labour market characteristics of the economy. The effectiveness of education investments also depends on other factors such as trade openness. Due to these aforesaid factors, we argue that the empirical relation between education expenditure and growth for India has been inconsistent. |
| Keywords: | Public education expenditure, economic growth, trade openness, India |
| JEL: | E60 E62 H52 I25 |
| Date: | 2012–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dun:dpaper:273&r=edu |
| By: | Daghbashyan, Zara (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology); Hårsman, Björn (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to improve understanding of the observed high level of entrepreneurship among arts graduates. Specifically, the entrepreneurship rates of university graduates in the arts, architecture and engineering are compared. The occupational choice model applied has three options: wage employment, owning and a combination of the two. The utility function governing the choice includes income as well as an indicator of the disutility resulting from differences between the skills required and the skills supplied. The model implies that an alternative providing a better match might be preferred to one providing a higher income. Using Swedish data, this paper shows that the possibility of using artistic skills has stronger impact on the choice of occupation than income considerations. |
| Keywords: | Arts graduates; education; occupational choice |
| JEL: | I21 L26 M53 M54 |
| Date: | 2012–12–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0295&r=edu |
| By: | Márcia de Carvalho (Departamento de Estatística and Centro de Estudos sobre Desigualdade e Desenvolvimento (CEDE), Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Brazil); Luis Fernando Gamboa (Facultad de Economía, Universidad del Rosario, Colombia.); Fábio D. Waltenberg (Departamento de Economia and Centro de Estudos sobre Desigualdade e Desenvolvimento (CEDE), Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Brazil) |
| Abstract: | While PISA datasets have been used for measuring inequality of educational opportunity they have important limitations: (i) samples only cover a relatively limited fraction of developing countries’ cohorts of 15-year-olds, and (ii) such fractions are not uniform across countries and waves. This casts doubts on the reliability of such measures when used for international and intertemporal comparisons: a milder calculated inequality of opportunity in a given country at a given moment might simply be the artifact of a more restricted and homogeneous sample. Previous attempts of addressing this problem have focused on explicitly reconstructing full samples. Here an alternative path is followed, relying on bidimensional indices, in which equality of opportunity in achievement is the first dimension and equality of opportunity for access to the exam is the second one. We compute the two dimensions and aggregate them using alternative techniques. Employing PISA 2006/2009 data for six Latin-American countries we observe rank reversals when comparing results based upon our indices and those based upon conventional indices of equality of opportunity for achievement. We then generalize our approach allowing for more dimensions and parameterizing the dimensions’ weights. |
| Keywords: | equality of opportunity, measurement of inequality of opportunity, multidimensional measures, PISA test scores, Latin America.Classification-JEL: I24, O54. |
| Date: | 2012–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2012-277&r=edu |