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on Education |
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Issue of 2013‒08‒10
twelve papers chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao University of Beira Interior and Technical University of Lisbon |
| By: | Carlos Garriga (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis); Mark P. Keightley (Florida State University) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the effectiveness of three different types of education policies: tuition subsidies (broad based, merit based, and flat tuition), grant subsidies (broad based and merit based), and loan limit restrictions. We develop a quantitative theory of college within the context of general equilibrium overlapping generations economy. College is modeled as a multi-period risky investment with endogenous enrollment, time-to-degree, and dropout behavior. Tuition costs can be financed using federal grants, student loans, and working while at college. We show that our model accounts for the main statistics regarding education (enrollment rate, dropout rate, and time to degree) while matching the observed aggregate wage premiums. Our model predicts that broad based tuition subsidies and grants increase college enrollment. However, due to the correlation between ability and financial resources most of these new students are from the lower end of the ability distribution and eventually dropout or take longer than average to complete college. Merit based education policies counteract this adverse selection problem but at the cost of a muted enrollment response. Our last policy experiment highlights an important interaction between the labor-supply margin and borrowing. A significant decrease in enrollment is found to occur only when borrowing constraints are severely tightened and the option to work while in school is removed. This result suggests that previous models that have ignored the student's labor supply when analyzing borrowing constraints may be insufficient. |
| Keywords: | Student Loans, Education Subsidies, Higher Education |
| JEL: | E0 H52 H75 I22 J24 |
| Date: | 2013–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hka:wpaper:2013-002&r=edu |
| By: | Buly A. Cardak (School Economics, La Trobe University); Joe Vecci (School of Economics, Monash University) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides new estimates of the effect of Catholic school attendance on high schoolcompletion and university commencement and completion for Australian students. First, an instrumental variables approach is adopted where the probability of Catholic affiliation is used as an instrument. Consistent with the recent US literature, results based on this instrument are mixed. Instead, bounds are placed on the Catholic school effect using the assumption of equality between selection on observables and unobservables. The effect of Catholic school attendance is found to be smaller than previous results and negative treatment effects cannot be ruled out. Recent improvements in public school outcomes may have contributed to the smaller Catholic school effects. |
| Keywords: | Catholic Schools, High School Completion, University Attendance, Selection Bias |
| JEL: | I21 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:trb:wpaper:2013.05&r=edu |
| By: | Joshua D. Angrist; Sarah R. Cohodes; Susan M. Dynarski; Parag A. Pathak; Christopher R. Walters |
| Abstract: | We use admissions lotteries to estimate the effects of attendance at Boston's charter high schools on college preparation, college attendance, and college choice. Charter attendance increases pass rates on the high-stakes exam required for high school graduation in Massachusetts, with especially large effects on the likelihood of qualifying for a state-sponsored college scholarship. Charter attendance has little effect on the likelihood of taking the SAT, but shifts the distribution of scores rightward, moving students into higher quartiles of the state SAT score distribution. Boston's charter high schools also increase the likelihood of taking an Advanced Placement (AP) exam, the number of AP exams taken, and scores on AP Calculus tests. Finally, charter attendance induces a substantial shift from two- to four-year institutions, though the effect on overall college enrollment is modest. The increase in four-year enrollment is concentrated among four-year public institutions in Massachusetts. The large gains generated by Boston's charter high schools are unlikely to be generated by changes in peer composition or other peer effects. |
| JEL: | I21 I23 I24 I28 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19275&r=edu |
| By: | Jan Kleibrink |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the effect of educational mismatch on wages in Germany, using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel. Educational mismatch has been discussed extensively, mostly by applying OLS wage regressions which are prone to an unobserved heterogeneity bias. This problem is approached by using FE and IV models. As a stability check, the regressions are rerun using data from the International Adult Literacy Survey, allowing for an explicit control of skills as proxy of abilities. Results show that unobserved heterogeneity does not explain the wage diff erences between actual years of education and years of required education. This rejects the hypothesis that mismatched workers compensate for heterogeneity in innate abilities. The results suggest a structural problem in the German educational system as skill demand and supply are not in long-term equilibrium. |
| Keywords: | Wages, educational mismatch |
| JEL: | I14 I21 J31 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp571&r=edu |
| By: | Nieuwenhuis, Jaap (Utrecht University); Hooimeijer, Pieter (Utrecht University); van Ham, Maarten (Delft University of Technology); Meeus, Wim (Utrecht University) |
| Abstract: | In the neighbourhood effects literature, the socialisation mechanism is usually investigated by looking at the association between neighbourhood characteristics and educational attainment. The step in between, that adolescents actually internalise educational norms held by residents, is often assumed. We attempt to fill this gap by looking at how educational commitments are influenced by neighbourhood characteristics. We investigate this process for migrant youth, a group that lags behind in educational attainment compared to native youth, and might therefore be particularly vulnerable to neighbourhood effects. To test our hypothesis we used longitudinal panel data with five waves (N=4179), combined with fixed-effects models which control for a large portion of potential selection bias. These models have an advantage over naïve OLS models in that they predict the effect of change in neighbourhood characteristics on change in educational commitment, and therefore offer a more dynamic approach to modelling neighbourhood effects. Our results show that living in neighbourhoods with higher proportions of immigrants increases the educational commitments of migrant youth compared to living in neighbourhoods with lower proportions. Besides, we find that adolescents with a resilient personality experience less influence of the neighbourhood context on educational commitments than do adolescents with other personalities. |
| Keywords: | neighbourhood effects, educational commitment, adolescents, personality, migrant youth, fixed effects |
| JEL: | I24 J15 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7510&r=edu |
| By: | Caragea, Nicoleta |
| Abstract: | The current study consists of a regional analysis of children participation in education in Romania. From an administrative point of view, the country is organized in 41 counties and Bucharest city. The regional level emerged in the public policymaking only after 1989, when escaping a hyper-centralised system of government and under the influence of the accession process and regional policies of EU. Eight development regions were defined, partly following historical regions of Romania. The main regional development structures in Romania were created at national and regional level but in 2011 the Government proposed for public debate a new administrative organisation model, considering the current one not being effective. A special feature of Romania is the large share of its population living in rural areas (46%), significantly higher compared with EU average (24%). As we will see, this fact is relevant for our analysis, given the marked differences in the quality of social services provision (including education) between the two areas of residence. The analysis is part of the UNICEF and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Global Initiative Activities in order to stimulate more complex and more informed and monitored policy responses related to exclusion from education. In Romania, the study was carried out by specialists from Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour and also experts from National Institute of Statistics and UNICEF Romania. The main data sources used were administrative and statistical data sources, like the Exhaustive Education Survey and the Household Budget Survey. The reference period of the analysis consisted from five academic years, from 2005-2006 to 2009-2010, using a set of standardized data tables. |
| Keywords: | out-of-school, development region, education, attending school, enrolment |
| JEL: | I21 I24 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48781&r=edu |
| By: | Regina Flake |
| Abstract: | This study analyzes the educational attainment and early labor market outcomes of young migrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) who arrived in Germany between 1989 and 1994. The results reveal that migrants have lower educational attainments than natives, and that within the group of migrants, Jewish migrants perform better than ethnic German migrants. A decomposition analysis reveals that this competitive edge can, for the most part, be explained by a higher socioeconomic background. In the labor market, migrants cannot compensate for their educational disadvantage and have poorer labor market outcomes than natives. The results of this study stress the importance of an early educational integration of migrants for a successful labor market integration in the long run. |
| Keywords: | International migration; education; wages; unemployment; intergenerational mobility; integration |
| JEL: | F22 I20 J30 J60 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rwi:repape:0425&r=edu |
| By: | Chris SAKELLARIOU (Division of Economics, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637332, Singapore) |
| Abstract: | I explore the association of early marriage of girls in Indonesia with the probability of passing education transitions using a sequential logit model; I first establish that in Indonesia, due to the socio-cultural and religious environment, marriage is the primary reason for exiting school for the majority of girls married before the age of 18 (and a minority of girls married later). I find that girls who married early are associated with extremely low odds of passing education transitions compared to boys, never married girls and girls who marry later; the estimates are even more unfavourable in the presence of unobserved heterogeneity. |
| Keywords: | Early marriage, education transitions, sequential response model, Indonesia. |
| JEL: | I24 J12 |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nan:wpaper:1304&r=edu |
| By: | Birčiaková, Naďa; Antošová, Veronika; Stávková, Jana |
| Abstract: | This paper deals with an analysis of the effects of education on the income of Czech households from 2006-2010. EU-SILC (European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions) review results are the main data source. The paper investigates with the living conditions of households and that is mandatory for all states. Based on the unified methodology, that is then possible to make comparison between countries. Households are divided into five categories according to the education attained by the head of the household. It further deals with income differences of individual educational groups expressed by the education coefficient. Households at risk of poverty are also taken into account. Income inequality is measured by way of the Gini coefficient. The analysis uses regression techniques to examine the relation between education and the Gini coefficient, as well as between education and households at risk of poverty. The biggest share is represented by households where the household head has vocational education, followed by households where the household head has secondary education. The regression analyses established strong positive dependence between the education level and Gini coefficient, as well as strong negative dependence between the education level and number of households at risk of poverty. Within analyzed period of five years was observed a negative development in the society in form that there is a bigger possibility of getting into the zone at risk of poverty for households with higher level of education. |
| Keywords: | education, EU-SILC, income, living conditions, poverty |
| JEL: | D3 D31 I31 I32 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:48846&r=edu |
| By: | Michèle Belot (University of Edinburgh), Jonathan James (University of Bath) and Patrick Nolen (University of Essex) |
| Abstract: | We conduct a field experiment in 31 primary schools in England to test whether incentives to eat fruit and vegetables help children develop healthier habits. The intervention consists of rewarding children with stickers and little gifts for a period of four weeks for choosing a portion of fruit and vegetables at lunch. We compare the effects of two incentive schemes (competition and piece rate) on choices and consumption over the course of the intervention as well as once the incentives are removed and six months later. We find that the intervention had positive effects, but the effects vary substantially according to age and gender. However, we find little evidence of sustained long term effects, except for the children from poorer socio-economic backgrounds. |
| Keywords: | Incentives, Health, Habits, Child nutrition, Field experiment. |
| JEL: | J13 I18 I28 H51 H52 |
| Date: | 2013–08–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:edn:esedps:219&r=edu |
| By: | Darmody, Merike; Thornton, Maeve; McCoy, Selina |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:rb2013/2/5&r=edu |
| By: | Eaton, Charlie; Goldstein, Adam; Habinek, Jacob; Kumar, Mukul; Stover, Tamera Lee; Roehrkasse, Alex |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the recent changes in the relationships between public research universities and financial markets, using the University of California as a case study. Between 2003 and 2011, UC’s outstanding bond debt to investors more than doubled. Funds raised through borrowing were invested into medical centers, dormitories, and athletic facilities at the same time as core university functions were scaled back due to cuts in state appropriations. We argue that these divergent trends are best understood as the financialization of university governance. We first trace the precipitous growth of UC debt beginning in the early 2000s. We then show howthe university has partnered with Wall Street firms to expand its borrowing activities through the use of a broad array of financial instruments. These changes occurred as UC’s administration empowered financial managers and recruited Wall Street veterans to positions as senior university executives and members of UC’s Board of Regents. Finally, we discuss the consequences for university governance of this reorientation towards financial strategies and financial markets. |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences, Governance-Higher Education, University of California |
| Date: | 2013–08–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:indrel:qt5qm6t5xn&r=edu |