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on Education |
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Issue of 2014‒04‒05
eight papers chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao Universidade da Beira Interior and Universidade de Lisboa |
| By: | Estrada, Ricardo; Gignoux, Jérémie |
| Abstract: | We study the effects of admission into elite public high schools in Mexico City on students' expected earnings, arguing these effects provide an indication of the value-added those schools produce. Using data for the centralized and exam-based allocation of students into schools and an adapted regression discontinuity design strategy, we find that admission substantially increases learning achievement, and also the future earnings and returns students expect from a college education, but no effect on the earnings expected with high school education alone. This suggests that students believe that the benefits from their elite education are complements to a college education. |
| Keywords: | elite high schools; earnings expectations; returns to education; beliefs formation |
| JEL: | D83 D84 I21 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpm:docweb:1407&r=edu |
| By: | Mira Fischer (University of Cologne); Patrick Kampkoetter (University of Cologne) |
| Abstract: | We study the effects of a label awarded to universities for excellence in research on students' perception of educational quality and enrolment in subsequent admission terms. Using a representative student survey we find that students evaluate the teaching and supervision quality of their institution better immediately after it was labelled "excellent". Furthermore, the award of the excellence label allow universities to enrol better high school graduates in subsequent admission terms, with economics students showing the strongest response. Our results provide evidence that students use the label as a signal for educational quality that affects application decisions and reinforces ability sorting between universities, a side-effect of a policy designed to raise efficiency of universities. |
| Keywords: | higher education, university choice, student evaluations, labelling effect |
| JEL: | I23 D80 H52 |
| Date: | 2014–03–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgr:cgsser:05-01&r=edu |
| By: | Şaziye Pelin Akyol; Kala Krishna |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates two main questions: i) What do applicants take into consideration when choosing a high school? ii) To what extent do schools contribute to their students’ academic success? To answer these questions, we model students’ preferences and derive demand for each school by taking each student’s feasible set of schools into account. We obtain average valuation placed on each school from market clearing conditions. Next, we investigate what drives these valuations by carefully controlling for endogeneity using a set of creative instruments suggested by our model. Finally, controlling for mean reversion bias, we look at each school’s value-added. We find that students infer the quality of a school from its selectivity and past performance on the university entrance exam. However, the evidence on the value- added by schools shows that highly valued or selective schools do not have high value- added on their students’ academic outcomes. |
| JEL: | I20 I21 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20013&r=edu |
| By: | Kim, Young-Chul; Kim, Young-Joon; Loury, Glenn |
| Abstract: | As private education becomes widespread over the last decade in South Korea, the education gap among regions and social classes, noticeably widens. The recent global financial crisis exacerbates the problem as the rich continues to utilize more private education while the poor utilizes it less. For the first time, we confirm the widening gap in academic achievement and college admission in recent years by using source materials on Korea’s College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) and students admitted to Seoul National University (SNU). We also present a simple theory that suggests as the influence of socioeconomic background and educational environment on the entrance exam score rises over that of innate talents, labor productivity of overall society appears to decline. Controlling for student talent by using the scholastic ranking of the 2nd year of middle school, we show that the socioeconomic status and learning environment exert a considerable influence on all college admissions criteria in this country. Finally, we discuss the importance of voluntary efforts by universities for expanding equal opportunity in higher education, as well as the government’s response to the growing gap in college admissions. |
| Keywords: | College Admission, Equal Opportunity, Education Gap |
| JEL: | I23 I24 |
| Date: | 2013–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:54952&r=edu |
| By: | Jo Blanden; Lindsey Macmillan |
| Abstract: | Evidence on intergenerational income mobility in the UK is dated. This paper seeks to update our knowledge by introducing new estimates of mobility for later measures of earnings in the 1958 and 1970 birth cohorts. Given poor or non-existent data on more recent cohorts we adopt an indirect approach to assessing more recent mobility trends. This exploits the close link between income persistence across generations and the gap in educational achievement by family background (referred to as educational inequality). We gather a comprehensive set of data which measures educational inequality for different cohorts at different points in the education system. We conclude that educational inequality has declined for cohorts born after 1980, and this is associated with rising average educational achievement. In contrast, evidence on high attainment does not reveal that educational inequality has declined; this suggests that policy seeking to promote equality of opportunity should encourage students to aim high. |
| Keywords: | Integenerational, income, social, mobility |
| JEL: | J13 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:spccwp:08&r=edu |
| By: | Maria De Paola; Vincenzo Scoppa (Dipartimento di Economia, Statistica e Finanza, Università della Calabria) |
| Abstract: | Procrastination produces harmful effects for human capital investments and studying activities. Using data from a large sample of Italian undergraduates, we measure procrastination with the actual behaviour of students, considering the delay in finalizing their university enrolment procedure. We firstly show that procrastination is a strong predictor of students’ educational achievements. This result holds true controlling for quite reliable measures of cognitive abilities, a number of background characteristics and indicators of students’ motivation. Secondly, we investigate, using a Regression Discontinuity Design, the effects of a remedial program in helping students with different propensity to procrastinate. We show that the policy especially advantages students who tend to procrastinate, suggesting that also policies not directly aimed at handling procrastination can help to solve self-control problems. |
| Keywords: | Procrastination, Self-control, Time preferences, Time consistency, Impatience, human capital, academic success, dropout, remedial courses |
| JEL: | D03 I21 D91 J01 J24 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:clb:wpaper:201401&r=edu |
| By: | de Brauw, Alan; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hoddinott, John F.; Roy, Shalini |
| Abstract: | We estimate the impact of Bolsa FamÃlia on a range of education outcomes, including school participation, grade progression, grade repetition, and dropout rates. Using a large-sample household panel survey from 2005–2009 collected for this evaluation, we develop a statistically balanced comparison group of eligible nonparticipant households and estimate impacts using propensity-score-weighted regression. We estimate that Bolsa FamÃlia increased average school participation among all children age 6 to 17 years by (a weakly significant) 4.5 percent. It had no effect on grade promotion, on average. However, within the subsample of girls, Bolsa FamÃlia caused substantial improvements in schooling outcomes, including significant increases in school participation (8.2 percent) and rates of grade progression (10.4 percent). We show that the gains in girls’ schooling do not derive from catch-up effects, but rather increase girls’ existing advantage in schooling attainment. In general, impacts are larger among older children, in rural areas, and in the Northeast. |
| Keywords: | Education, Gender, Poverty, conditional cash transfers (CCT) programs, Bolsa FamÃlia, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1319&r=edu |
| By: | TODA Akihito; TSURU Kotaro; KUME Koichi |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we examine the effects of family background during childhood and non-cognitive ability on future outcomes such as educational attainment, employment status, and wages. The results show that the home environment during childhood has a positive effect on educational attainment, but the effect weakens during the employment period. Those who were raised in homes with book collections enjoy higher wages. In terms of non-cognitive ability, a lack of tardiness during high school as a proxy for conscientiousness positively affects educational attainment as well as the person's first and current employment. Indoor activities at age 15, a proxy for introversion, have a positive effect on educational attainment but are negative to the current employment status. Furthermore, the wages of those who had belonged to an athletic team or a student council during junior high school are higher than those of comparative groups. The evidence implies that non-cognitive ability such as extroversion, leadership, and agreeableness cultivated by extracurricular activities is significantly related to success in the future labor market. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rdpsjp:14019&r=edu |