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on Education |
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Issue of 2014‒02‒21
eight papers chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao Universidade da Beira Interior and Universidade de Lisboa |
| By: | Revilla, Ma. Laarni D. |
| Abstract: | In the Philippines, no assessment has been done yet on the impacts of changes in household income and the free public secondary education act (Republic Act 6655) on the outcomes of education. Thus, this paper inquires on the impacts of these two factors on schooling outcomes, namely, net participation rates, cohort survival rates, proportion of population at each educational attainment level, average years of schooling, and education inequality. Using descriptive statistics and regression analyses, this study found that RA 6655 has exerted positive impacts on schooling outcomes by relaxing household resource constraints in schooling investments. This finding suggests that there is a need to strengthen education reforms and create jobs that can be source of income to households. |
| Keywords: | income, education, Philippines, schooling outcomes, education inequality, Republic Act 6655 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2014-11&r=edu |
| By: | Olivier Thévenon (INED) |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the extent to which the increase in women's human capital, as measured by educational attainment, has contributed to economic growth in OECD countries over the past five decades. Using longitudinal cross-country data covering 30 countries from 1960 to 2008 on education (the Barro-Lee dataset) and growth (update of OECD data), our results point out a positive and significant impact ofthe increase in women's educational attainment relative to men on output per capita growth - as measuredby GDP per capita. Our results are robust to the distinction between sub-periods and indicate that the effect of the equalisation of years of completed education on economic growth has been higher in the most recent periods. Results also hold when countries with an above-average increase in years of completed education are removed from the sample. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idg:wpaper:202&r=edu |
| By: | Kuzey Yilmaz (Department of Economics, University of Rochester) |
| Abstract: | To design an optimal education policy, it is essential to account for the fertility differential between the poor and the rich because it affects the human capital investment through the child quantity-quality tradeoff of children. We develop a dynamic general equilibrium in which parents choose the quantity of children, transfer a preschool ability to their children, determine the quality of children by choosing private expenditures on basic education in addition to public expenditures on basic education, leave a bequest that could be used to finance college education. Moreover, there is an uncertainty in college completion depending on ability and endogenous wage determination based on the amount of schooling in the economy. It is very important to consider general equilibrium effects because the change in either fertility behavior or college outcomes as a result of policy changes leads to a large change in aggregate skill distribution. We find that ignoring fertility behavior, especially differential fertility substantially underestimates the role of credit constraints in the economy. We also analyze the impact of basic education subsidies and college subsidies on welfare, inequality, and intergenerational mobility. Strikingly, the choice between these two policies is found to be dependent on the magnitude of differential fertility rate. |
| Keywords: | differential fertility; human capital investment; education subsidies; general equilibrium; inequality; intergenerational mobility. |
| JEL: | H2 I2 D5 J1 J3 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:koc:wpaper:1403&r=edu |
| By: | Buechel, Berno; Mechtenberg, Lydia; Petersen, Julia |
| Abstract: | We conducted a multi-wave field experiment to study the interaction of peer effects and self-control among undergraduate students. We use a behavioral measure of self-control based on whether students achieve study related goals they have set for themselves. We find that both self-control and the number of talented friends increase students’ performance. We then set out to test the theoretical prediction of Battaglini, Bénabou and Tirole (2005) that (only) sufficiently self-controlled individuals profit from interactions with peers. We find that peers with high self-control are more likely to connect to others, have a higher overall number of friends and have a higher number of talented friends. Moreover, positive news about self-controlled behavior of their peers increases students’ own perseverance. Hence, our findings are consistent with the model of Battaglini, Bénabou and Tirole. In addition, we find that female students are more likely to have high self-control, but do not outperform male students. One reason for this is that female students have a lower number of talented friends than their male counterparts, thereby profiting less from positive peer effects. |
| Keywords: | Self-control; Peer Influence; Social Networks; Goals; Time preferences; Procrastination; Willpower; School Performance; Experiment |
| JEL: | C93 D85 I21 J24 |
| Date: | 2014–01–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:53658&r=edu |
| By: | Yulia Tyumeneva (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Alena Valdman; Martin Carnoy (Stanford University. Vida Jacks Professor of Education.) |
| Abstract: | There is currently a large body of literature about applying knowledge gained in class to real-life situations. However, comparatively little is known about how a student’s mastery of the material affects his or her ability to transfer this knowledge to unfamiliar settings. Our research seeks to illuminate the relationship between a student’s subject mastery level and his or her knowledge transfer to out-of-subject contexts. We use data from TIMSS mathematics (8 grade) and PISA mathematics to evaluate the link between subject mastery level – in this case, the mastery level of mathematics – and the transfer of learned math. Building off previous discussions of TIMSS and PISA test differences, we consider TIMSS performance as the mastery level of school mathematics, and PISA performance as the ability to transfer learned math to an out-of-subject context. The sample included 4,241 Russian students who took part in both the TIMSS 2011 and PISA 2012 cycles. In our study, we first divide the students into six groups according to their performance in the TIMSS. Then we identify the most difficult PISA test items based on the Rasch Model. Finally, we determine what percentage of the most difficult PISA items were answered correctly in every TIMSS group. This percentage served as a measure of the ability to successfully transfer knowledge. We found a positive relation between subject mastery level and the ability to transfer learned math to an out-of-subject context. The higher the mastery level of mathematics, the higher the probability that knowledge will be transferred. However, this link was not linear: only the highest mastery level contributed significantly to knowledge transfer. At other mastery levels, the rate of successful transfer differentiated only slightly. These results imply the importance of making certain that students have truly mastered curriculum before moving to new topics. Additionally, the non-linear nature of the link suggests that educators should begin rethinking how test results are interpreted. |
| Keywords: | transfer, subject knowledge, subject mastery level, out-of-subject context, PISA, TIMSS |
| JEL: | I21 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:14edu2014&r=edu |
| By: | Bodas Freitas , Isabel Maria; Geuna, Aldo; Lawson, Cornelia; Rossi, Federica (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | We investigate under what circumstances firms (industry inventors) are more likely to engage in interactions where governance of the relationship is shared between the firm and the university, as opposed to interactions where the relationship is governed unilaterally by the firm. Using PIEMINV, an original dataset of European industry patents in the Italian region of Piedmont, we analyse the characteristics of inventors with diverse experience in projects involving interactions with universities, governed by institutional contracts or personal contracts. Our results suggest that reliance among inventors of the two forms of governance is almost equal, and that unilateral governance forms are preferred when there are high levels of trust among the parties based on embeddedness in local social and education networks. This is likely because it involves less cumbersome and more direct interactions. We find also that knowledge characteristics are not particularly important discriminants of the choice between governance forms: the advantage of shared governance seems to reside mainly in the possibility to mitigate monitoring and asymmetric information problems in contexts of relatively low levels of mutual knowledge and trust. |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:labeco:201401&r=edu |
| By: | Keren Mertens Horn |
| Keywords: | Residential Investment, School Performance, House Prices |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mab:wpaper:24&r=edu |
| By: | Odile Blanchard (PACTE - Politiques publiques, ACtion politique, TErritoires - Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Grenoble - CNRS : UMR5194 - Université Pierre-Mendès-France - Grenoble II - Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble I); Arnaud Buchs (Institut de géographie et durabilité - Université de Lausanne) |
| Abstract: | The article aims at assessing the effectiveness of a role-play in addressing two concerns: clarifying the concept of sustainable development and teaching sustainable development issues. The effectiveness is gauged by surveying students to reveal how the game matches a set of "significant learning" criteria defined by Fink (2003). Firstly, our article brings a short overview of how the concept of sustainable development has emerged and spread over time. Secondly, in order to assess the learning potential of our role-play, we examine how it addresses the six components of Fink's taxonomy of "significant learning": (i) foundational knowledge, (ii) application, (iii) integration, (iv) human dimensions, (v) caring and, (vi) learning how to learn. This taxonomy is analysed through a rigorous assessment methodology. The assessment shows that our role-play is highly praised by the players as it not only brings them foundational knowledge, but also allows them to enhance many skills. Thus, the framework of this role-play contributes to educating about sustainable development as well as educating for sustainable development. |
| Keywords: | education ; role-play ; significant learning; sustainable development |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00946227&r=edu |