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on Education |
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Issue of 2016‒06‒25
twenty-two papers chosen by João Carlos Correia Leitão Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Stefano STAFFOLANI (Università Politecnica delle Marche, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali); Maria Cristina RECCHIONI (Università Politecnica delle Marche, Dipartimento di Management) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a theoretical model of enrollment decisions made by high school graduates, under the assumption that their choices are strongly influenced by the educational standard(s), roughly de ned as what students are expected to have learned by the end of the course. Higher standards reduce the probability of graduation but increase the accumulation of human capital and future earnings. The policy maker decides whether standards are set equally for all universities (centralization) or autonomously by each university (decentralization). In the centralized setting, the model establishes relationships among the standards that maximize di erent objectives: graduation, enrollment, and human capital. Speci cally, the standard that maximizes graduation is lower than the one that maximizes enrollment, which, in turn, is lower than the one that maximizes human capital. The decentralized setting may perform worse than the centralized one in terms of these three objectives if moving costs exist, while it always performs worse in terms of inter-generational mobility in education. |
| Keywords: | Education, University, Standards, Human Capital, Inequality, Regulation of Educational System |
| JEL: | J24 I21 I23 |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wpaper:419&r=edu |
| By: | Tyrefors Hinnerich, Bjorn (Dept. of Economics, Stockholm University); Vlachos, Jonas (Dept. of Economics, Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | Sweden has a school voucher system with universal coverage and full acceptance of corporate providers. Using a value added approach, we find that students at upper- secondary voucher schools on average score 0.06 standard deviations lower on externally graded standardized tests in first year core courses. The negative impact is larger among lower achieving students (but not among immigrant students), the same students who are most prone to attend voucher schools. For high achieving students, the voucher school impact is around zero. Comparing internal and external evaluations of the same standardized tests, we find that voucher schools are 0.14 standard deviations more generous than municipal schools in their internal test grading. The greater leniency in test grading is relatively uniform across different groups, but more pronounced among students at academic than vocational programs. The findings are consistent with voucher schools responding more to differences in educational preferences than municipal schools. |
| Keywords: | Voucher schools; student achievement; grading standards |
| JEL: | H40 I21 I22 |
| Date: | 2016–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:sunrpe:2016_0002&r=edu |
| By: | Luca Flóra Drucker (ELTE Department of Economics and Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences); Daniel Horn (Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences and ELTE Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The Polish educational reform in 1999 is often considered successful as the results of the Polish students, and especially that of the low-performers, on the OECD PISA tests have improved significantly since the introduction of the new system. The reform extended the previous 8-year undivided comprehensive education to 9 years, core curricula were introduced and the examination, admission and assessment systems were changed. It has been argued before that this longer comprehensive education improved the test performance of worse performing students; hence increasing average performance and decreasing inter-school variation of test scores. However, the lack of reliable impact assessment on long-run labour market effects of this reform is awaiting. In this paper, we aim to fill this gap by looking at the causal effects of the reform. By comparing the labour market outcomes of the pre- and post-reform cohorts, we find a non-negligible and positive effect. We look at employment and wages as outcomes. Using data from the EU-Statistics on Income and Living conditions, and pooling the waves between 2005 and 2013 and taking the 20-27 year-olds, we generate a quasi-panel of observations to estimate the treatment effect by difference-in-difference estimation. We find evidence that the reform was successful on the long-run: the post-reform group is more likely to be employed and they also earn higher wages. On average, the treatment group is around 2-3% more likely to be employed, which effect is driven by the lowest educated. The post-reform cohort also earns more: we find an over 3% difference in real wages, which is also more pronounced for the lowest educated. |
| Keywords: | education reform, Poland, detracking, labor market, difference-in-difference |
| JEL: | I21 I24 I26 J24 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:has:bworkp:1602&r=edu |
| By: | Aithal, Sreeramana |
| Abstract: | Based on opening up the higher education system to Private sectors in India, the competition between institutions for quality education became primary issue of discussion to attract more students to their courses. Innovation in Student-centric learning is one of the basic requirements to attract interested students to the institution. In this context, the institutions of higher education in India are in need of an infusion of quality and clarity on the approach of building world-class educational institutions. In this paper, we have discussed how co-curricular and extra-curricular innovations helped higher education top business schools in India by identifying the innovations made by top business schools in their admission process, course design, course delivery, course schedule, course pedagogy, and examination system. The study is based on collecting the information from top ten old Business schools of IIM category announced by NIRF, MHRD, for the year 2013-15 and some top private business schools. The effectiveness of these innovations is analysed and compared using a self-designed curriculum analysis framework. |
| Keywords: | Student centric curriculum, Student centric learning, Innovations in higher education teaching |
| JEL: | I21 I23 |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:71742&r=edu |
| By: | Kramer, Anica; Tamm, Marcus |
| Abstract: | Individuals with more years of education generally acquire more training later on in life. Such a relationship may be due to skills learned in early periods increasing returns to educational investments in later periods. This paper addresses the question whether the complementarity between education and training is causal. The identification is based on exogenous variation in years of education due to a reform of the schooling system and the buildup of universities. Results confirm that education has a significant impact on training participation during working life. |
| Abstract: | Personen mit hoher Schul- oder beruflicher Bildung nehmen im späteren Leben deutlich häufiger an Weiterbildung teil. Ein derartiger Zusammenhang könnte daraus resultieren, dass einige Fähigkeiten, die in schulischer und beruflicher Ausbildung geprägt werden, zu höheren Ertragsraten von späteren Weiterbildungsinvestitionen und daher zu mehr Investitionen führen. In der vorliegenden Untersuchung wird geprüft, ob der Zusammenhang zwischen Bildung und Weiterbildungsteilnahme kausaler Natur ist. Hierzu wird auf exogene Variation im Bildungserwerb zurückgegriffen, die sich aus einer Schulreform und der Gründung von Universitäten ergibt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Bildungserwerb in Schule oder Berufsausbildung einen signifikant positiven kausalen Effekt auf die Weiterbildungsteilnahme im späteren Erwerbsleben hat. |
| Keywords: | training,lifelong learning,returns to schooling |
| JEL: | I21 I24 I26 J24 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:618&r=edu |
| By: | Albert Park (Division of Social Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Department of Economics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Institute for Emerging Market Studies, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology); Paul Glewwe (Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota); Meng Zhao (Faculty of International Social Sciences, Gakushuin University) |
| Abstract: | About 10% of primary school students in developing countries have poor vision, but very few of them wear glasses. Almost no research examines the impact of poor vision on school performance, and simple OLS estimates could be biased because studying harder may adversely affects one’s vision. This paper presents results from a randomized trial in Western China that offered free eyeglasses to rural primary school students. Our preferred estimates, which exclude township pairs for which students in the control township were mistakenly provided eyeglasses, indicate that wearing eyeglasses for one academic year increased the average test scores of students with poor vision by 0.16 to 0.22 standard deviations, equivalent to 0.3 to 0.5 additional years of schooling. These estimates are averages across the two counties where the intervention was conducted. We also find that the benefits are greater for under-performing students. A simple cost-benefit analysis suggests very high economic returns to wearing eyeglasses, raising the question of why such investments are not made by most families. We find that girls are more likely to refuse free eyeglasses, and that parental lack of awareness of vision problems, mothers’ education, and economic factors (expenditures per capita and price) significantly affect whether children wear eyeglasses in the absence of the intervention. |
| Keywords: | poor vision, impaired eyesight, school performance, eyeglasses, eyesight, academic performance |
| Date: | 2016–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hku:wpaper:201637&r=edu |
| By: | Aithal, Sreeramana; V.T., Shailashree; Kumar, Suresh |
| Abstract: | Most of the higher education institutions affiliated to public Universities introduced value additions to reinforce the relevance and strength of the course even if they had constraints of autonomy. Of late, the cry for quality has brought forward the ++ model in various under graduate and post graduate courses, which is competency building through ‘stage based quality assurance strategy’ that promotes bridging curriculum gaps, imparting skills and creating a mindset favourable to managing business or work as entrepreneurs. The institution can develop a model of student development and enhance graduate attributes by means of focused development plan. In semester based courses, the institution can identify various attributes essential for earning the degree and focus on a particular attribute in each semester. Based on our experience at SIMS (Srinivas Institute of management Studies), we have developed a stage model for all the courses to focus on a particular graduate attribute during each semester by designing the programmes in such a way that at the end of the course, students posses the expected graduate attributes. This has been named as higher education stage model. In this paper, we have analyzed the various features of Stage Model intervention technique through the analyzing framework called ABCD technique. The results supported the logic of using ABCD analyzing technique for any system/concept performance evaluation. |
| Keywords: | ABCD analysis framework, Stage model of higher education, Factors affecting stage model. |
| JEL: | I21 I23 |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:71972&r=edu |
| By: | Aithal, Sreeramana; Kumar, Suresh; Kumari, Deekshitha |
| Abstract: | Higher education institutions are vested with the responsibility of grooming a generation of youth through providing quality education and skills, matching the requirements of a harmonious, self-reliant and developed society, and values inclined to serve with selfless devotion in whatever capacity they assume and wherever they work. The society at large looks up to the institutions to address their needs through enhancing educational opportunity, maintaining quality, increasing employability, solving community-based problems, creating a pool of human resources, promoting inter-institutional collaborations and maintaining harmony with outer environment. In order to achieve this, institution formulate action plans for all the operational processes such as admission, teaching, placement, personality development, support services, social responsibility etc. through strategic planning. The perspective plan of the institution clearly spells out its accountability. Leadership is groomed both at student level and teacher level in academics, career, programme organization, sports and games and cultural activities through setting standards, measuring performance, ensuring discipline, character formation and personality building. Quality assurance mechanisms involve the stakeholders namely parents, students, institutions, industry and community to ensure satisfaction and compliance. Through objective criteria such as results and placement, outreach activities, events and programmes, feedback etc. the institution monitors to maintain accountability. This paper discusses the societal expectation and institutional accountability through a case study of Srinivas Institute of Management Studies (SIMS). |
| Keywords: | Accountability in Higher education, Quality assurance mechanisms, Perspective plans, Quality policy. |
| JEL: | I21 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:71992&r=edu |
| By: | JAMES, Jonathan; VUJIC, Suncica |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effect of education on the timing of fertility. First, we use an institutional rule that led to women obtaining qualifications due to their month of birth (Easter Leaving Rule). Second, we exploit a large expansion of post-compulsory schooling that occurred from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. This expansion resulted in the proportion of 18 year olds in full time education rising from around 17% in 1985 to over 35% in the late 1990s. We find that neither the exogenous increase in qualifications as a result of the Easter Leaving Rule nor the expansion in post-compulsory schooling led to a reduction in the probability of having a child as a teenager. However, we do find that both sources of variation in education led to delays in having a child. There is no evidence that the mechanism driving these findings are due to an incapacitation effect. Instead the results point to both a direct human capital effect and an improvement in labour market opportunities as a result of holding qualifications. |
| Keywords: | Education, Fertility timing |
| JEL: | I26 J13 |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ant:wpaper:2016005&r=edu |
| By: | Ashwini Deshpande |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the results of an attitude survey administered to university students in India that attempts to delineate the social.psychological mechanisms of .externalization. and .internalization. to understand the possible consequences of stigma associated with caste-based affirmative action (AA). Despite a significant gap in entry scores at admission to a higher educational institution, no significant differences are found in the effort and academic attitudes between students from beneficiary groups and those who get admission through non-reserved/open seats.On a range of questions that evaluate externalization and attitudes towards AA, there are clear and significant differences between caste groups that reveal the presence of stigma through the externalization mechanism; that is, the tendency of peers to evaluate beneficiary performance prejudicially, indicating the prevalence of discriminatory attitudes towards students from target groups. However, there is no evidence of internalization; that is, students from beneficiary groups internalizing their peers. low evaluation, resulting in low self-esteem and lower performance.These findings suggest the need for establishing an anti-discriminatory apparatus inside higher educational institutions to counter stigmatizing attitudes and micro-aggressions against those admitted on the basis of AA. |
| Keywords: | Caste, Education, Higher, Equality and inequality |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2016-071&r=edu |
| By: | Tansel, Aysit; Karaoglan, Deniz |
| Abstract: | This study provides causal effect of education on health behaviors in Turkey which is a middle income developing country. Health Survey of the Turkish Statistical Institute for the years 2008, 2010 and 2012 are used. The health behaviors considered are smoking, alcohol consumption, fruit and vegetable consumption, exercising and one health outcome namely, the body mass index (BMI). We examine the causal effect of education on these health behaviors and the BMI Instrumental variable approach is used in order to address the endogeneity of education to health behaviors. Educational expansion of the early 1960s is used as the source of exogenous variation in years of schooling. Our main findings are as follows. Education does not significantly affect the probability of smoking or exercising. The higher the education level the higher the probability of alcohol consumption and the probability of fruit and vegetable consumption. Higher levels of education lead to higher BMI levels. This study provides a baseline for further research on the various aspects of health behaviors in Turkey. |
| Keywords: | Turkey, Health Behaviors, Education, Instrumental Variable Estimation |
| JEL: | I10 I12 I19 |
| Date: | 2016–06–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:72146&r=edu |
| By: | Christopher Jepsen (University College Dublin); Peter Mueser (University of Missouri-Columbia); Kyung-Seong Jeon (University of Missouri-Columbia) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides novel evidence on the labor-market returns to proprietary (also called for-profit) postsecondary school attendance. Specifically, we link administrative records on proprietary school attendance with quarterly earnings data for nearly 70,000 students. Because average age at school entry is 30 years of age, and because we have earnings data for five or more years prior to attendance, we estimate a person fixed-effects model to control for time-invariant differences across individuals. By five years after entry, quarterly earnings returns are around 26 percent for men and 21-22 percent for women. Average returns are quite similar for associate’s degree programs and certificate programs, but vary substantially by field of study. Differences in return by gender are completely explained by differences in field of study. |
| Keywords: | postsecondary education, labor-market returns, proprietary schooling |
| JEL: | J24 I26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:umc:wpaper:1607&r=edu |
| By: | McEachin, Andrew; Atteberry, Allison |
| Abstract: | State and federal accountability policies are predicated on the ability to estimate valid and reliable measures of school impacts on student learning. The typical spring- to-spring testing window potentially conflates the amount of learning that occurs during the school-year with learning that occurs during the summer. We use a unique dataset to explore the potential for students’ summer learning to bias school-level value-added models used in accountability policies and research on school quality. The results of this paper raise important questions about the design of performance-based education policies, as well as schools’ role in the production of students’ achievement. |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ran:wpaper:1149&r=edu |
| By: | Aysit Tansel (Department of Economics, METU; Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) Bonn, Germany; Economic Research Forum (ERF) Cairo, Egypt); Deniz Karaoğlan (Visiting Scholar, Department of Economics, METU) |
| Abstract: | This study provides causal effect of education on health behaviors in Turkey which is a middle income developing country. Health Survey of the Turkish Statistical Institute for the years 2008, 2010 and 2012 are used. The health behaviors considered are smoking, alcohol consumption, fruit and vegetable consumption, exercising and one health outcome namely, the body mass index (BMI). We examine the causal effect of education on these health behaviors and the BMI Instrumental variable approach is used in order to address the endogeneity of education to health behaviors. Educational expansion of the early 1960s is used as the source of exogenous variation in years of schooling. Our main findings are as follows. Education does not significantly affect the probability of smoking or exercising. The higher the education level the higher the probability of alcohol consumption and the probability of fruit and vegetable consumption. Higher levels of education lead to higher BMI levels. This study provides a baseline for further research on the various aspects of health behaviors in Turkey. |
| Keywords: | Turkey, Health Behaviors, Education, Instrumental Variable Estimation |
| JEL: | I10 I12 I19 |
| Date: | 2016–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:met:wpaper:1606&r=edu |
| By: | Mike Helal (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne); Michael Coelli (Department of Economics, The University of Melbourne) |
| Abstract: | Recent studies in Economics have found that the idiosyncratic effect of school leaders may be an important factor in improving student outcomes. The specific channels through which principals affect schools are, with minor exceptions, still largely unexplored in this literature. Employing a unique administrative panel data set from the Victorian public school system, we construct estimates of the idiosyncratic effects of principals on student achievement. We do so using fixed effects techniques and turnover of principals across schools to isolate the effect of principals from the effect of schools themselves. More importantly, through annual detailed staff and parent surveys, we investigate several potential mechanisms through which individual principals may affect student outcomes. Classification-I21 |
| Keywords: | Student achievement, school principals, value-added |
| Date: | 2016–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2016n18&r=edu |
| By: | Eric Bettinger; Oded Gurantz; Laura Kawano; Bruce Sacerdote |
| Abstract: | We examine the impacts of being awarded a Cal Grant, among the most generous state merit aid programs. We exploit variation in eligibility rules using GPA and family income cutoffs that are ex ante unknown to applicants. Cal Grant eligibility increases degree completion by 2 to 5 percentage points in our reduced form estimates. Cal Grant also induces modest shifts in institution choice at the income discontinuity. At ages 28-32, Cal Grant receipt increases by three percentage points the likelihood of living in California at the income discontinuity, and raises earnings by four percentage points at the GPA discontinuity. |
| JEL: | H2 H4 H41 H52 I2 I22 I23 I24 |
| Date: | 2016–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22347&r=edu |
| By: | Aedin Doris (Department of Economics, Finance and Accounting, Maynooth University.); Bruce Chapman (Australian National University) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the feasibility of various alternative potential student loan schemes for Ireland. Using National Employment Survey data for 2006, we model the life-cycle earnings distribution for Irish graduates. We then use these estimates to simulate the effects of alternative types of student loans, including mortgage-type (government guaranteed bank) loans and income-contingent loans of various designs, incorporating participation and migration patterns into the simulations. The results show that mortgage-type loans entail unsustainably high repayment rates for low income graduates. Through the specification of several alternative income-contingent loan schemes, it is demonstrated that this approach to higher education financing is feasible in terms of affordability for graduates and with respect to implied government subsidies. There are some important policy design issues to be addressed and we conclude with some recommendations for a future Irish scheme. |
| JEL: | I22 I28 H52 H81 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:may:mayecw:n271-16.pdf&r=edu |
| By: | Manuel Souto-Otero (University of Bath); Andreia Inamorato dos Santos (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Robin Shields (University of Bath); Predrag Lazetic (University of Bath); Jonatan Castaño Muñoz (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Axelle Devaux (ICF International); Stephanie Oberheidt (ICF International); Yves Punie (European Commission – JRC - IPTS) |
| Abstract: | OpenCases is a study which is part of the OpenEdu Project. It is a qualitative study consisting of a review of literature on open education and nine in-depth case studies of higher education institutions, a consortium of universities, a private organisation and a national initiative. It analysed the rationale and enabling conditions for involvement in open education, open education activities, strategies, impact, challenges and prospects. The main outcome of this study is evidence that a large number of OER have reached a large group of learners. However, completion rates of MOOCs are low. Accreditation is not formalised and in general its impact on employability is not measured. |
| Keywords: | open education, openness, higher education, open science, open research, OER, MOOC, open educational resources, universities |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc101533&r=edu |
| By: | Garcia-Medina Cecilia; Jean-Francois Wen |
| Abstract: | We construct the ratio of the post-fisc to the pre-fisc transitory component of the variance of family incomes in Canada from 1993 and 2008. The ratio measures how much the tax and transfer system attenuates market income instability. It is shown that the ratio of variances is equivalent theoretically to the concept of residual income progression. The fiscal system became less stabilizing beginning in the late 1990s, especially for families headed by main earners with less than high school education. The trend is attributable to personal income tax reforms and reductions in transfers for lower income families. |
| Keywords: | Income Instability; Progressive Taxation; Employment Insurance |
| JEL: | H22 H53 J38 |
| Date: | 2016–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdm:wpaper:2016-07&r=edu |
| By: | Popov, Alexander; Laeven, Luc |
| Abstract: | We exploit regional variation in US house price fluctuations during the boom-bust cycle of the 2000s to study the impact of the housing cycle on young Americans' choices related to education and employment. We find that in MSAs which experienced large increases in house prices between 2001 and 2006, young adults were substantially more likely to forego a higher education and join the workforce, lowering skill formation. During the bust years, the young, especially those without higher education, were more likely to be unemployed in areas which experienced higher declines in house prices. JEL Classification: E32, G21, J10, R21 |
| Keywords: | booms, education, house prices, unemployment |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20161892&r=edu |
| By: | Steven Glazerman; Dallas Dotter |
| Abstract: | This brief summarizes a technical report that describes what DC parents look for when they choose a school for their child. |
| Keywords: | school choice, segregation, lottery, education, district of Columbia, market signals |
| JEL: | I |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:c35ddf08a6084d18baff7aeaa2b9a004&r=edu |
| By: | Lergetporer, Philipp (Ifo Institute for Economic Research); Schwerdt, Guido (University of Konstanz); Werner, Katharina (Ifo Institute for Economic Research); Woessmann, Ludger (Ifo Institute for Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | The electorates' lack of information about the extent of public spending may cause misalignments between voters' preferences and the size of government. We devise a series of representative survey experiments in Germany that randomly provide treatment groups with information on current spending levels. Results show that such information strongly reduces support for public spending in various domains from social security to defense. Data on prior information status on school spending and teacher salaries shows that treatment effects are strongest for those who initially underestimated spending levels, indicating genuine information effects rather than pure priming effects. Information on spending requirements also reduces support for specific education reforms. Preferences on spending across education levels are also malleable to information. |
| Keywords: | public spending, information, preferences, education spending, survey experiment |
| JEL: | H11 D83 D72 H52 I22 P16 |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9968&r=edu |