nep-edu New Economics Papers
on Education
Issue of 2013‒10‒18
fifteen papers chosen by
Joao Carlos Correia Leitao
Universidade da Beira Interior and Universidade de Lisboa
  1. Developing Skills for Innovative Growth in the Russian Federation By World Bank; National Research University – Higher School of Economics
  2. Selection and tracking in secondary education; A cross country analysis of student performance and educational opportunities By Korthals R.A.
  3. Access to Post-Secondary Education: The Importance of Culture By Ross Finnie
  4. The short- and long-term effects of school choice on student outcomes – evidence from a school choice reform in Sweden By Wondratschek, Verena; Edmark, Karin; Frölich, Markus
  5. School segregation, school choice and educational policies in 100 Hungarian towns By Gabor Kertesi; Gabor Kezdi
  6. Tax Benefits for Graduate Education: Incentives for Whom? By Bednar, Steven; Gicheva, Dora
  7. Promoting Excellence in Turkey's Schools By World Bank
  8. What is expected of higher education graduates in the 21st century? By Humburg M.; Velden R.K.W. van der
  9. The long-run and intergenerational education impacts of intergovernmental transfers By Irineu de Carvalho Filho; Stephan Litschig
  10. Understanding income mobility: the role of education for intergenerational income persistence in the US, UK and Sweden By Paul Gregg; Jan. O. Jonsson; Lindsey Macmillan; Carina Mood
  11. Hidden Redistribution in Higher Education By Perrotta Berlin, Maria
  12. What Do Parents Want? An Exploration of School Preferences Expressed by Boston Parents By Glaeser, Ed; Poftak, Steve; Tobio, Kristina
  13. Improving college access and success for low-income students: Evidence from a large need-based grant program By Gabrielle Fack; Julien Grenet
  14. Instructional Practices and Student Math Achievement: Correlations froma a Study of Math Curricula. By Douglas H. Clements; Roberto Agodini; Barbara Harris
  15. Scoping paper: Developing University Innovation Capacity: How can innovation policy effectively harness universities’ capability to promote high-growth technology businesses? By Einar Rasmussen; Paul Benneworth; Magnus Gulbrandsen
  1. By: World Bank; National Research University – Higher School of Economics
    Keywords: Education - Access & Equity in Basic Education Education - Education For All Education - Educational Sciences Education - Knowledge for Development Education - Primary Education
    Date: 2013–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:16100&r=edu
  2. By: Korthals R.A. (GSBE)
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:umagsb:2013054&r=edu
  3. By: Ross Finnie (Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON)
    Abstract: This paper first discusses the theoretical approaches regarding the choice of participating in post-secondary (or “higher”) education, starting with a presentation of the standard neoclassical economics approach, and then adding concepts taken from the emerging behavioural economics literature to take into account “cultural” factors that affect access. The paper then presents the results of an empirical analysis based on a very rich Canadian dataset, the Youth in Transition Survey, which follows youth from age 15 through to age 25 and includes remarkably detailed information on family and other background factors as well as schooling experiences, which provides evidence which points to the importance of cultural influences on PSE choices. Policy implications are then discussed.
    Keywords: education; post-secondary education; higher education; culture; behavioural economics; students; Canada; youth; university; college; parental education;
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ott:wpaper:1303e&r=edu
  4. By: Wondratschek, Verena (Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW)); Edmark, Karin (Research Institute of Industrial Economics); Frölich, Markus (University of Mannheim)
    Abstract: This paper evaluates the effects of a major Swedish school choice reform. The reform in 1992 increased school choice and competition among public schools as well as through a large-scale introduction of private schools. We estimate the effects of school choice and competition, using precise geographical information on the locations of school buildings and children’s homes for the entire Swedish population for several cohorts affected at different stages in their educational career. We can measure the long-term effects up to age 25. We find that increased school choice had very small, but positive, effects on marks at the end of compulsory schooling, but virtually zero effects on longer term outcomes such as university education, employment, criminal activity and health.
    Keywords: School choice; school competition; treatment evaluation; cognitive and non-cognitive skills
    JEL: C21 I20
    Date: 2013–09–25
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2013_020&r=edu
  5. By: Gabor Kertesi (Institute of Economics, Center for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences); Gabor Kezdi (Central European University and Institute of Economics, Center for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences)
    Abstract: The distribution of Roma and non-Roma students across schools has become considerably more unequal in Hungary since the 1980's. This paper analyzes the effect of school choice and local educational policies on that inequality, known as school segregation, in 100 Hungarian towns. We combine administrative data with data from a survey that we collected from municipality administrations with respect to local educational policies and the ethnic composition of neighborhoods. Our results indicate that in Hungarian towns, free school choice diminishes the role of residential distribution because many students commute to schools of their choice. Towns where such commuting is more pronounced are characterized by stronger inter-school inequalities. We also find that local educational policies have, on average, somewhat segregationist tendencies, though there is substantial heterogeneity across towns. The more segregationist the local policies are, the higher the segregation in the town, thus suggesting that local policies have room to influence school segregation in this system. However, the impact of local educational policies is weaker than the role of school choice.
    Keywords: School segregation, Roma minority, school choice, local educational policies
    JEL: I24 I28 J15
    Date: 2013–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:has:bworkp:1312&r=edu
  6. By: Bednar, Steven (Elon University); Gicheva, Dora (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics)
    Abstract: Numerous studies have examined the enrollment responses of traditional undergraduate students to the introduction of government-provided tuition subsidies, but far less attention has been devoted to the elasticity of demand for graduate education. This paper examines how the tax code and government education policies affect graduate enrollment and persistence rates along with the ways in which students fund their graduate education. Our empirical methodology is based on exogenous variations in the availability of an income tax exemption for employer- provided tuition assistance for graduate courses. We find that graduate attendance among full-time workers age 24-30 is higher when the tax exemption is available, mostly due to higher persistence in public universities and vocational course work. The use of employer aid for individuals enrolled in full-time and public part-time graduate programs also increases. We present some evidence that universities may adjust tuition to capture part of the incidence.
    Keywords: Educational Finance; Tax Code; Graduate Education; Employer- Provided Tuition Subsidies
    JEL: H52 I22 I28 J32
    Date: 2013–10–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:uncgec:2013_017&r=edu
  7. By: World Bank
    Keywords: Education - Education For All Secondary Education Tertiary Education Teaching and Learning Education - Primary Education
    Date: 2013–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wboper:16049&r=edu
  8. By: Humburg M.; Velden R.K.W. van der (GSBE)
    Abstract: In this paper, we reflect on the skills higher education graduates are expected to have in todays economy and the role of higher education in equiping graduates with these skills. First, we identify 6 trends which form the basis of the changing role of graduates in economic life. These trends are the knowledge society, increasing uncertainty, the ICT revolution, high performance workplaces, globalization, and the change of the economic structure. By changing the nature and range of tasks graduates are expected to fulfil in todays economy, we argue that these trends generate new and intensify traditional skill demands, which we summarize as professional expertise, flexibility, innovation and knowledge management, mobilization of human resources, international orientation, and entrepreneurship. Second, we draw out some key issues concerning the role of higher education institutions in equiping graduates with these skills.
    Keywords: Analysis of Education; Education and Economic Development; Education: Government Policy; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity;
    JEL: I21 I25 I28 J24
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:umagsb:2013044&r=edu
  9. By: Irineu de Carvalho Filho; Stephan Litschig
    Abstract: This paper provides regression discontinuity evidence on long-run and intergenerational education impacts of a temporary increase in federal transfers to local governments in Brazil. Revenues and expenditures of the communities benefiting from extra transfers temporarily increased by about 20% during the 4 year period from 1982 to the end of 1985. Schooling and literacy gains for directly exposed cohorts established in previous work that used the 1991 census are attenuated but persist in the 2000 and 2010 censuses. Children and adolescents of the next generation --born after the extra funding had disappeared-- show gains of about 0.08 standard deviation across the entire score distribution of two nationwide exams at the end of the 2000s. While we find no evidence of persistent improvements in school resources, we document discontinuities in education levels, literacy rates and incomes of test takers' parents that are consistent with intergenerational human capital spillovers.
    Keywords: intergovernmental grants, human capital, test scores, regression discontinuity
    JEL: H40 H72 I21 O15
    Date: 2013–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1390&r=edu
  10. By: Paul Gregg (Department of Social and Policy Science, University of Bath); Jan. O. Jonsson (Nuffield College, Oxford University and Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University); Lindsey Macmillan (Department of Quantitative Social Science, Institute of Education, University of London); Carina Mood (Institute for Future Studies, Stockholm and Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University)
    Abstract: A growing number of studies in several countries over the past twenty years have documented the persistence in incomes across generations, and much of the current literature is seeking to understand the processes driving intergenerational mobility and how these differ across time periods and across countries. Education is commonly seen, just as in sociological studies of social mobility or status attainment, as the key driving force of intergenerational associations. In this paper we study the role of education for intergenerational income associations in three countries over time, and across the life-span of sons. We pay particular attention to issues of life-cycle bias and measurement error in modelling income mobility in a comparative setting. To explore the role of education, we utilise a three-stage framework that decomposes the intergenerational elasticity into three parts: the relationship between income and education, the returns to education, and the direct relationship between parental income and their child’s income in the next generation after controlling for education. We find that the US and the UK have high levels of income persistence (low mobility) across generations while Sweden is more moderate. Levels of educational inequality are surprisingly similar in all three countries with the majority of the difference between the US/UK and Sweden working through unequal returns to education and, more strikingly, inequality of opportunities for people with similar educational qualifications.
    Keywords: Intergenerational mobility, children, education
    JEL: J62 J13 J31
    Date: 2013–10–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qss:dqsswp:1312&r=edu
  11. By: Perrotta Berlin, Maria (Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics)
    Abstract: Low income countries, and in particular countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, have invested huge resources over the last 40 years in financing higher (university level) education, compared with the number of students at that level and with the corresponding expenditures for lower levels of education. I propose and test an elite capture hypothesis: that expenditure in tertiary education is partly used as a tool for redistribution towards the elites close to the political leaders. I fi nd that this hypothesis can explain a substantial part of the within-country variation in expenditures levels.
    Keywords: higher education; public expenditures; inefficient redistribution; Sub-Saharan Africa
    JEL: C81 H52 I22 O55
    Date: 2013–08–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:hasite:0023&r=edu
  12. By: Glaeser, Ed (Harvard University); Poftak, Steve (Harvard University); Tobio, Kristina (Harvard University)
    Abstract: This working paper seeks to determine the preferences of Boston parents for certain school attributes. It analyzes data provided by the Boston Public Schools and the Massachusetts School Building Authority to determine what factors are most closely correlated with popular schools in Boston's public school lottery. The report finds that parents favor closer schools and schools with higher levels of academic achievement (as measured by the MCAS test). It also finds that certain school structures--K1 (over K2 only) schools and K-8 (over K-5) schools--are preferred. The working paper found that other school offerings, both structural and programs, did not matter. Overall school size, computer facilities, and gyms did not have a significant impact. Art, music, and science lab facilities had minimal or no impact. The working paper also provides detailed information on how neighborhood, racial composition, and socio-economic conditions impact school preferences.
    Date: 2013–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp13-024&r=edu
  13. By: Gabrielle Fack; Julien Grenet
    Abstract: Using comprehensive administrative data on France's single largest financial aid program, this paper provides new evidence on the impact of large-scale need-based grant programs on the college enrollment decisions, persistence and graduation rates of low-income students. We exploit sharp discontinuities in the grant eligibility formula to identify the impact of aid on student outcomes at different levels of study. We find that eligibility for an annual cash allowance of 1,500 euros increases college enrollment rates by up to 5 percentage points. Moreover, we show that need-based grants have positive effects on student persistence and degree completion.
    Keywords: Need-based grants; college enrollment; student persistence; degree completion
    JEL: H52 I22 I28 J24 J38
    Date: 2013–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1393&r=edu
  14. By: Douglas H. Clements; Roberto Agodini; Barbara Harris
    Keywords: Correlational study, elementary school, instructional practices, student math achievement
    JEL: I
    Date: 2013–09–30
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:7909&r=edu
  15. By: Einar Rasmussen (Bodø Graduate School of Business (HHB), University of Nordland); Paul Benneworth (Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS) at the University of the Twente); Magnus Gulbrandsen (Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture (TIK), University of Oslo)
    Abstract: Some universities and departments have been very successful in stimulating university spin-off firms (USOs). This has persuaded policy makers and university administrators to devote considerable resources to improve universities' capabilities to promote USOs, but with little tangible results. Related research has considered why some universities contributes more to business innovation than others, but whether the majority of universities can become innovation hotbeds remains an open question. This paper takes a novel interdisciplinary approach integrating insights from two separate literatures, academic entrepreneurship and university management. We start by taking the firm’s perspective and seek to understand the challenges faced by USOs and how universities can assist these firms in developing their entrepreneurial competencies. The structure and main purpose of universities are very different from that of new technology businesses and the transition from being an academic research activity to become a commercial business activity poses challenges both for the university and the USO. Much research on universities’ entrepreneurial capability focuses on ‘what’ universities can do to support USOs at the expense of ‘why’ universities’ might choose to promote USOs when they are under many intense competing demands from outside. We explore not only what universities can do to support USOs, but also how universities experience USOs’ support demands, and the circumstances under which universities can develop capability to promote USOs. We address the barriers that arise between universities and USOs and discuss mitigating factors which support the competencies of USOs whilst at the same time meet the different university stakeholders’ needs.
    Date: 2013–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tik:inowpp:20131007&r=edu
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