|
on Education |
|
Issue of 2016‒10‒23
twenty papers chosen by João Carlos Correia Leitão Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Andrea Lepine |
| Abstract: | This paper provides evidence on a large-scale teacher incentive program in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, which awarded group bonuses to teachers and school staff conditional on improvements in student performance. By using a difference-in-differences and triple-differences framework, I show that the program had overall positive effects on student achievement, although improvements vary across grades and subjects. The robustness of the results is assessed through the use of a series of alternative counterfactuals. I also investigate whether initial school characteristics affect the impact of the program. Although it could be expected that free-riding effects increase with the number of teachers in schools, therefore limiting the impact of the program, this does not seem to be the case. More sizeable differences are found according to school's previous performance. Initially low-performing schools improved much more than the average, suggesting there may be considerable differences in the ability of schools to respond to this type of policy. |
| Keywords: | Pay for performance; Student achievement; Incentives |
| JEL: | I21 I28 J45 |
| Date: | 2016–10–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2016wpecon18&r=edu |
| By: | David Lapierre (Department of Economics, University of Quebec in Montreal); Pierre Lefebvre (Department of Economics, University of Quebec in Montreal); Philip Merrigan (Department of Economics, University of Quebec in Montreal) |
| Abstract: | Very few studies analyze the long-term educational effects of private secondary school attendance while controlling for socioeconomic status. In Québec, the second most populous Canadian province, twenty percent of students at this level are enrolled in private schools subsidized by the government that however sets a relatively low ceiling for the fees in exchange for subsidies. Selection bias arising from a host of factors, preclude simplistic comparisons of their educational results with those of their public sector peers. This study uses the first four longitudinal waves of the two cohorts from Statistics Canada?s Youth in Transition Survey (YITS) to estimate the average treatment on the treated effect of private school on the high school graduation rate within the expected number of years after starting high school (5), enrollment in postsecondary institutions at age 19, university enrollment at age 21 or more, university graduation at age 24 or more, and enrollment in a professional degree program. The econometric estimation of treatment effects is based on a particular entropy balancing algorithm with a large set of key balancing covariates. Results are validated by a simulation-based sensitivity analysis for matching estimators. We find large, positive, robust, and statistically significant effects of private schooling on almost all outcomes analyzed. Most results are not sensitive to simulations of omitted variable bias. |
| Keywords: | YITS, high school graduation, postsecondary education and professional programs enrollment and graduation, longitudinal data, treatment effect, entropy balancing |
| JEL: | I20 I21 I28 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grc:wpaper:16-02&r=edu |
| By: | Russell Cooper; Huacong Liu |
| Abstract: | This paper studies mismatch in educational attainment. Mismatch arises when high ability individuals do not obtain a college degree and/or low ability individuals do obtain such a degree. Using data from the NLSY97 survey, the paper estimates a structural model of education choice that matches the moments of mismatch, college attainment and labor market outcomes. The analysis conditions on both gender and race. The model with occasionally binding borrowing constraint fits the moments better than a model with perfect capital markets, indicating that capital market frictions may contribute to mismatch. The influence of parents on educational attainment is present though this channel appears to operate through attitudes rather than through the provision of resources. Once this link between parents and children is taken into account, the influence of borrowing constraints disappears. In this case, mismatch reflects differences in tastes rather than borrowing constraints. The paper also presents a decomposition of the college wage premium into the returns to schooling and the selection into higher education. The analysis highlights the power of selection into higher education as an explanation of the college wage premium by gender and race. |
| JEL: | E21 E24 I21 I23 I26 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22734&r=edu |
| By: | Judith Scott-Clayton; Lauren Schudde |
| Abstract: | College attendance is a risky investment. But students may not recognize when they are at risk for failure, and financial aid introduces the possibility for moral hazard. Academic performance standards can serve three roles in this context: signaling expectations for success, providing incentives for increased student effort, and limiting financial losses. Such standards have existed in federal need-based aid programs for nearly 40 years in the form of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements, yet have received virtually no academic attention. In this paper, we sketch a simple model to illustrate not only student responses to standards but also the tradeoffs faced by a social planner weighing whether to set performance standards in the context of need-based aid. We then use regression discontinuity and difference-in-difference designs to examine the consequences of SAP failure. In line with theoretical predictions, we find heterogeneous effects in the short term, with negative impacts on persistence but positive effects on grades for students who remain enrolled. After three years, the negative effects appear to dominate. Effects on credits attempted are 2–3 times as large as effects on credits earned, suggesting that standards increase the efficiency of aid expenditures. But it also appears to exacerbate inequality in higher education by pushing out low-performing low-income students faster than their equally low-performing, but higher-income peers. |
| JEL: | I22 I23 I28 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22713&r=edu |
| By: | Bernhard Enzi; Benedikt Siegler |
| Abstract: | How did the introduction of the Bachelor-degree system affect students in Germany? Combining rich data on university students with administrative data on universities' study programs, we exploit variation in the timing of Bachelor-degree implementation across departments. To account for endogeneity in students' enrollment decisions, we apply an instrumental-variable approach based on the distance differential between an individual's nearest universities with a Bachelor's and a traditional degree program. Overall, we do not find reform effects on students' mobility, dropout, and internship participation, although there is indication that the reform reduced dropout for females and for high-achieving students and increased study satisfaction. |
| Keywords: | Bologna Reform; Bachelor introduction; student outcomes; instrumental variables |
| JEL: | I28 I21 H75 |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bav:wpaper:165_enzisiegler&r=edu |
| By: | Siegler, Benedikt; Enzi, Bernhard |
| Abstract: | How did the introduction of the Bachelor-degree system affect students in Ger- many? Combining rich data on university students with administrative data on universities' study programs, we exploit variation in the timing of Bachelor- degree implementation across departments. To account for endogeneity in stu- dents' enrollment decisions, we apply an instrumental-variable approach based on the distance differential between an individual's nearest universities with a Bachelor's and a traditional degree program. Overall, we do not find reform ef- fects on students' mobility, drop out, and internship participation, although there is indication that the reform reduced drop out for females and for high-achieving students and increased study satisfaction. |
| Keywords: | Bologna Reform; Bachelor intro duction; student outcomes; instrumental variables |
| JEL: | I28 I21 H75 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lmu:muenec:29635&r=edu |
| By: | Gralka, Sabine |
| Abstract: | Evaluations of the Higher Education Sector are receiving increased attention, due to the rising expenditures and the absence of efficiency enhancing market pressure. To what extent universities are able to eliminate inefficiency is a question that has only partially been answered. This paper argues that heterogeneity among universities as well as persistent inefficiency hinder the institutions to achieve full efficiency - at least in the short run. Two standard and one novel specification of the Stochastic Frontier Analysis are applied to a new, comprehensive set of panel data to show how the standard efficiency evaluation changes when both aspects are taken into account. It is the first time that the idea of persistent inefficiency is considered in the analysis of the German Higher Education Sector. The comparison reveals that the disregard of heterogeneity distorts the estimation results towards lower efficiency values. The newly introduced specification improves the accuracy of the heterogeneity assumption and exposes that inefficiency tends to be long term and persistent rather than short term and residual. This implies that increasing efficiency requires a comprehensive change of the university structure. |
| Keywords: | Persistent Inefficiency,Stochastic Frontier Analysis,Cost Efficiency,Higher Education,Germany |
| JEL: | C14 C23 D61 I22 I23 H52 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:tudcep:0616&r=edu |
| By: | Sophie van H¸llen (Department of Economics, SOAS, University of London, UK); Duo Qin (Department of Economics, SOAS, University of London, UK) |
| Abstract: | We re-examine the effect of compulsory school law on education in the US pioneered by Angrist and Krueger (1991). We show that the standard instrumental variable approach of the education variable not only yields empirically inconsistent estimates, but is conceptually confused. The confusion arises from the rejection of the key causal variable as a valid conditional variable. By route of a causally explicit model design we are able to identify the circumstances under which the formerly rejected variable can yield valid inference values. Our investigation demonstrates the importance of building data-consistent models over estimator choice in successful research designs. |
| Keywords: | instrumental variables, randomisation, research design, returns to education, treatment effect |
| JEL: | C26 C52 H75 I21 I26 J24 N32 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:soa:wpaper:199&r=edu |
| By: | Adrien Bouguen (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC), PSE - Paris School of Economics); Kamilla Gumede (Aarhus University [Aarhus]); Marc Gurgand (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC), PSE - Paris School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This article investigates the role of parents by looking at the effect of a parental involvement program implemented in poor primary school in South Africa. Based on a random variation of the program assignment and on a partial population design, it allows to rigorously identify impacts on parental involvement, on the relationship between parents and teachers and on student outcomes. We find mixed results suggesting that parents who volunteer to attend the meetings changed their behavior toward more involvement at home and at school. Such behavioral change appears stronger for a subgroup of parents whose children is enrolled in the facilitating teacher's class, suggesting positive interactions between parents and teachers. Yet, no cognitive or non cognitive impact on students can be detected. We interpret these disappointing results as evidence that in a developing country context, parents face constraints that makes such program unable to have significant effects on student performances |
| Keywords: | Education,parental involvement,Development |
| Date: | 2015–12–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01241957&r=edu |
| By: | Marina Bassi; Costas Meghir; Ana Reynoso |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a RCT to estimate the effectiveness of guided instruction methods as implemented in under-performing schools in Chile. The intervention improved performance substantially for the first cohort of students, but not the second. The effect is mainly accounted for by children from relatively higher income backgrounds. Based on the CLASS instrument we document that quality of teacher-student interactions is positively correlated with the performance of low income students; however, the intervention did not affect these interactions. Guided instruction can improve outcomes, but it is a challenge to sustain the impacts and to reach the most deprived children. |
| JEL: | I21 I24 I25 I3 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22719&r=edu |
| By: | Ann E. Person; Jaime Thomas; Julie Bruch; Alexander Johann; Nikhail Maestas |
| Abstract: | Competency-based education models allow students to move through material independently, advancing when they demonstrate content mastery. |
| Keywords: | competency-based education, community colleges, online education, TAACCCT, workforce training |
| JEL: | I J |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:1bf1d15641c6432c9a9019d1d044f037&r=edu |
| By: | Battaglini, Marco; Díaz, Carlos; Patacchini, Eleonora |
| Abstract: | We exploit the exogenous variation in peer groups generated by high school to college transitions to study the theoretical predictions of Battaglini, Benabou and Tirole's (2005) model of self-control in peer groups. We find evidence consistent with the two key predictions of this theory regarding the relationship between an agent's expected self-control problems and the size and composition of his or her social circles: (i) students embedded in social circles have more self-control than those who are alone and their self-control is increasing in the size of their social group; (ii) students' self-control is, however, a non-monotonic hump-shaped function of the average self-control of their friends. |
| Keywords: | peer effects; Self-Control |
| JEL: | C31 D71 D85 I21 Z13 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:11563&r=edu |
| By: | Ann E. Person; Jaime Thomas; Lisbeth Goble |
| Abstract: | Competency-based education models allow students to move through material independently, advancing when they demonstrate content mastery. |
| Keywords: | competency-based education, community colleges, online education, TAACCCT, workforce training |
| JEL: | I J |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:933ba4fb8c104e72b81611b22576f995&r=edu |
| By: | Noemí Herranz-Zarzoso (LEE and Department of Economics, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain); Gerardo Sabater-Grande (LEE and Department of Economics, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the effect of financial incentives on academic performance by means of a randomized field experiment. Using two alternative payment mechanisms we implement two experimental treatments designed to motivate students depending on their absolute or relative academic performance. Subjects, recruited among students from Microeconomics, were split in two groups depending on whether they had a failed background in the aforementioned subject (returning students) or not (new students). New students were informed that they would receive a reward depending on their bet (the grade they thought would achieve) and the real grade obtained. In the case of the returning students, the reward was calculated taking into account the bet, the obtained real grade and their improvement with respect to previous semesters. In the first treatment students were rewarded according to a piece rate system whereas in the second one we established two rankings (one for new students and another one for returning students) classifying them depending on their academic performance. In both treatments we find that the implemented incentives are effective to increase the average of grades for both types of students (new and returning), but the piece rate mechanism is more powerful to motivate a higher number of students. |
| Keywords: | Betting for grades, incentives, academic performance, piece rate mechanism, rank-order tournament |
| JEL: | C93 D03 I21 J24 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jau:wpaper:2016/18&r=edu |
| By: | Yukihiro Nishimura (Osaka University [Osaka]); Pierre Pestieau (CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research - CEPR, CORE - Center of Operation Research and Econometrics [Louvain] - UCL - Université Catholique de Louvain, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC), PSE - Paris School of Economics); Grégory Ponthière (ERUDITE - Equipe de Recherche sur l’Utilisation des Données Individuelles en lien avec la Théorie Economique - UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée - UPEC UP12 - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC), PSE - Paris School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | We develop a 3-period overlapping generations (OLG) model where individuals borrow at the young age to finance their education. Education does not only increase future wages, but, also, raises the duration of life, which, in turn, affects education choices, in line with Ben Porath (1967). We first identify conditions that guarantee the existence of a stationary equilibrium with perfect foresight. Then, we reexamine the conditions under which the Ben-Porath effect prevails, and emphasize the impact of human capital decay and preferences. We compare the laissez-faire with the social optimum, and show that the latter can be decentralized provided the laissez-faire capital stock corresponds to the one satisfying the modified Golden Rule. Finally, we introduce intracohort heterogeneity in the learning ability, and we show that, under asymmetric information, the second-best optimal non-linear tax scheme involves a downward distortion in the level of education of less able types, which, quite paradoxically, would reinforce the longevity gap in comparison with the laissez-faire. |
| Keywords: | Education,Life expectancy,OLG models,Optimal policy |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01230932&r=edu |
| By: | Aring, Monika. |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the skills needs in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and how Member States can strengthen their skills and training systems to benefit from emerging opportunities of integration and boost competitiveness. Maximizing the benefits of regional integration will necessitate leveraging the knowledge, skills and creativity of ASEAN’s labour force of 317 million women and men. This paper looks at statistical trends since 2005 regarding education and skills attainment, and technical and vocational education and training enrolment in ASEAN. It assesses the quality of education and vocational training and the readiness of ASEAN’s labour force, including young people making the school-to-work transition, to take advantage of new opportunities in a more integrated and dynamic region. The paper also examines the challenge of skills mismatch and skilled labour shortages in the region. |
| Keywords: | labour market, interindustry shift, skill requirements, competitiveness, employability, ASEAN countries, marché du travail, mutation interindustrielle, besoins en travailleurs qualifiés, compétitivité, aptitude à l'emploi, pays de l'ANASE, mercado de trabajo, desplazamiento industrial, requisitos de cualificación, competitividad, empleabilidad, países del ASEAN |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:994872733402676&r=edu |
| By: | Brice Corgnet (EMLYON Business school - EMLYON Business School, GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Etienne - PRES Université de Lyon - ENS Lyon - École normale supérieure - Lyon); Mark Desantis (Chapman University - Chapman University, Argyros School of Business and Economics); David Porter (Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman University - Chapman University) |
| Abstract: | Using simulations and experiments, we pinpoint two main drivers of trader performance: cognitive reflection and theory of mind. Both dimensions facilitate traders' learning about asset valuation. Cognitive reflection helps traders use market signals to update their beliefs whereas theory of mind offers traders crucial hints on the quality of those signals. We show these skills to be complementary because traders benefit from understanding the quality of market signals only if they are capable of processing them. Cognitive reflection relates to previous Behavioral Finance research as it is the best predictor of a trader's ability to avoid commonly-observed behavioral biases. |
| Keywords: | Experimental asset markets, behavioral finance, cognitive reflection, theory of mind, financial education |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01364432&r=edu |
| By: | Kluve, Jochen (Humboldt University Berlin, RWI); Puerto, Olga Susana (Youth Employment Network (UN, ILO, World Bank)); Robalino, David A. (World Bank); Romero, Jose M. (World Bank); Rother, Friederike (World Bank); Stöterau, Jonathan (RWI); Weidenkaff, Felix (ILO International Labour Organization); Witte, Marc (University of Oxford) |
| Abstract: | This study reviews the evidence on the impact of youth employment programs on labor market outcomes. The analysis looks at the effectiveness of various interventions and the factors that influence program performance including country context, targeted beneficiaries, program design and implementation, and type of evaluation. We identify 113 counterfactual impact evaluations covering a wide range of methodologies, interventions, and countries. Using meta-analysis methods, we synthesize the evidence based on 2,259 effect sizes (Standardized Mean Differences, or SMD) and the statistical significance of 3,105 treatment effect estimates (Positive and Statistically Significant, or PSS). Overall, we find that just more than one-third of evaluation results from youth employment programs implemented worldwide show a significant positive impact on labor market outcomes – either employment rates or earnings. In general, programs have been more successful in middle- and low-income countries; this may be because these programs' investments are especially helpful for the most vulnerable population groups – low-skilled, low-income – that they target. We also conjecture that the more-recent programs might have benefited from innovations in design and implementation. Moreover, in middle and low income countries, skills training and entrepreneurship programs seem to have had a higher impact. This does not imply, however, that those programs should be strictly preferred to others; much depends on the needs of beneficiaries and program design. In high-income countries, the role of intervention type is less decisive – much depends on context and how services are chosen and delivered, a result that holds across country types. We find strong evidence that programs that integrate multiple interventions are more likely to succeed because they are better able to respond to the different needs of beneficiaries. We also find evidence about the importance of profiling and follow-up systems in determining program performance, and some evidence about the importance of incentive systems for services providers. |
| Keywords: | youth employment, active labor market policy, impact evaluations, systematic review, meta-analysis |
| JEL: | J21 J48 E24 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10263&r=edu |
| By: | Karhunen, Hannu; Määttänen, Niku; Uusitalo, Roope |
| Abstract: | We analyse how alternative reforms of the student financial aid would influence average study duration, government expenditures, and tax revenues. We also consider the reform that has been proposed by the current government (in 2016) which consists of lowering the monthly student grant and decreasing the maximum eligibility period while increasing the maximum study grant. Our results are based on a structural model that describes the financial constraints and incentives faced by the students. The model is calibrated with register based panel data on students’ study progress, withdrawal of study grants and student loans, and wage income. According to the results, the reform proposed by the current government will reduce government expenditures on student aid by about 20 percent, which is close to the government’s target. However, the reform is also likely to increase the average study duration. The size of this effect depends on how willing the students are to take student loans. |
| Keywords: | Student financial aid, study duration |
| JEL: | D14 H24 J22 |
| Date: | 2016–10–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:report:59&r=edu |
| By: | Fabrizio Alboni (Università di Bologna); Giorgio Tassinari (Università di Bologna) |
| Abstract: | In recent years there has been a fair amount of debate in Italy about regional differences in student achievements at the end of the high school cycle (Esame di Stato). In particular, concerns have been expressed about the performance of students in Southern Italy, higher than the national average, while standardized tests of learning outcomes point to a very different situation. The paper investigates this issue using simple statistical methods to disentangle the geographical area effect from the effects of other characteristics. The main finding is that a regional effect is present in final grades, but it is more important in the area of Central Italy rather than in Southern Italy. |
| Keywords: | Scuola superiore, esami di Stato, regioni. High school, final exam, regions |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bot:quadip:wpaper:137&r=edu |