|
on Education |
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Issue of 2017‒03‒12
twenty-two papers chosen by João Carlos Correia Leitão Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Caroleo, Floro Ernesto; Pastore, Francesco |
| Abstract: | This essay delivers two main innovations with respect to the existing literature. First, and foremost, by extending the work of Nicaise (2010) relative to the reservation wage to the case of overeducation, we propose a statistical test to discriminate between alternative theoretical interpretations of the determinants of overeducation through the Heckman sample selection procedure. Second, the essay provides the first available economic analysis of the consequences of the educational mismatch in Italy as based on AlmaLaurea data, the largest and richest data bank available in the country. The data includes a large number of university graduates enrolled in a given year before the Bologna reform and asks a large number of questions allowing us measuring among others the quality of education from high school. This wealth of information is a condition to provide the most comprehensive, accurate and reliable assessment of overeducation in the country. The educational mismatch 5 years from graduation is relatively high – at 11.4% and 8% for overeducation and overskilling, respectively – by EU standards. Ceteris paribus the parents of the mismatched have lower educational levels according to school tracking. Most humanities and social sciences degrees but also geology, biology and psychology are associated with both types of mismatch. The quality of education also correlates to the educational mismatch. We find a nonconditional wage penalty associated to overeducation and overskilling of 20% and 16% and a conditional one of about 12% and 7%, respectively. The Heckman sample selection model returns a slightly higher sample selection corrected wage penalty, supporting not only the job competition and job assignment models, but also the human capital model. Other concurrent statistical tests point to the difficulty that the educational system faces in providing work-related skills to graduates. |
| Keywords: | University-to-work transition,educational mismatch,sample selection bias,AlmaLaurea,Italy |
| JEL: | C25 C26 C33 I2 J13 J24 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:15&r=edu |
| By: | Mongi Boughzala (University of Tunis El Manar, FSEGT); Samir Ghazouani; Abdelwahab Ben Hafaiedh |
| Abstract: | This paper is about the institutional and regulatory system governing higher education in Tunisia; its focus is on autonomy and accountability and it also compares the performance of public higher education graduates to the private sector’s. The main idea guiding this paper is that better educational outcomes depend, among other things, on the institutional arrangements and the incentives structure they generate. The paper analyzes the current incentive system underlying the functioning of the university system in Tunisia. In spite of the reforms attempted to improve the quality of the education system this system remains very disconnected from the demand side of the labor market. Management and academic staff have little incentive to adapt their training and research programs to the market needs. This is to a large extent because they enjoy little autonomy and are hardly accountable. The paper also relies on data drawn from the recent Tunisia Higher Education Graduates’ Survey (THEGS 2015) initiated by ERF which builds on similar studies previously undertaken by ERF in Egypt and Jordan. This data is used to compare the outcome of the public universities with the private institutions with a focus on the employment performance of their graduates. Private universities behave differently, and some try to innovate in terms of pedagogy and to be closer to the potential employers’ demands. However, they remain small and attract less than 8 percent of the total student body. They are all profit driven and tend to have few if any permanent academic staff; instead, they rely mostly on temporary teachers. Nevertheless, based on the THEGS 2015 data, they manage to perform quite well compared to their public counterparts. |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:1031&r=edu |
| By: | Lange, Simon; von Werder, Marten |
| Abstract: | Proponents of tracking argue that the creation of more homogeneous classes increases efficiency while opponents fear that tracking aggravates initial differences between students. We estimate the effects on the intergenerational transmission of education of a reform that delayed tracking by two years in one of Germany’s federal states. While the reform had no effect on educational outcomes on average, it increased educational attainment among individuals with uneducated parents and decreased attainment among individuals with educated parents. The reform thus lowered the gradient between parental education and own education. The effect is driven entirely by changes in the gradient for males. |
| JEL: | I21 I24 I28 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc16:145784&r=edu |
| By: | Arbel, Yuval (School of Business, Carmel Academic Center); Bar-El, Ronen (Open University of Israel); Tobol, Yossi (Jerusalem College of Technology (JTC)) |
| Abstract: | We model a higher education system that admits students according to their admission signal (e.g., matriculation GPA, SAT), which is, in turn, affected by their cognitive ability and socioeconomic background. We show that subsidizing education loans increases neither human capital stock nor aggregate consumption, but only yields income redistribution mainly among the upper class. We show that the policies aimed at compensating for poor socioeconomic background result in a higher aggregate consumption, as well as income redistribution from top to bottom. We test the model using a unique dataset that includes proxies of socioeconomic background and cognitive ability. Results show that the high school matriculation GPA is a weak predictor of academic achievements. We demonstrate that, while the high school matriculation GPA is explained by proxies of cognitive ability and socioeconomic background, academic GPA is solely explained by cognitive ability proxies. Finally, the lack of a matriculation certificate is associated with a poor socioeconomic background. |
| Keywords: | higher education, human capital formation, income inequality, socioeconomic background, subsidies |
| JEL: | C83 D31 D62 I22 I28 R23 |
| Date: | 2017–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10564&r=edu |
| By: | Cathles, Alison (Maastricht University); Ritzen, Jo (IZA and Maastricht University) |
| Abstract: | Numeracy skills of adults within and across 12 different countries in 2011 are strongly associated with the accumulated public investments in education received by these adults during their schooling. This paper confirms existing evidence that the timing of educational investments is important, with early investments playing the most fundamental role. Investment in primary education is associated with higher numeracy scores for those who went on to continue their education. Higher investments in tertiary education are needed in order to fully realize the benefit of the investments in primary school. Family background is a decisive factor in relation to numeracy skills of these adults, in line with all available evidence. Adults who received higher public investment in primary education were more likely to complete secondary school and attain tertiary education. This refutes earlier studies indicating that the amount of financial resources available for education may not be that important for the development of competences. |
| Keywords: | government expenditures and education, human capital, education and economic development, returns to education, cognitive skills |
| JEL: | H52 I25 I26 J01 J24 |
| Date: | 2017–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10565&r=edu |
| By: | Attar, Itay (Ben Gurion University); Cohen-Zada, Danny (Ben Gurion University) |
| Abstract: | Using Israeli data, we estimate the effect of school entrance age (SEA) on student outcomes. Unlike much of the recent literature, our identification strategy strictly satisfies the monotonicity assumption required for interpreting our estimates as the local average treatment effect (LATE), and also separates the effect of SEA from date of birth effects. We find that delaying school entry by one year increases fifth grade test scores in Hebrew by 0.34 standard deviations and in math by 0.19. Interestingly, while the advantage in Hebrew slightly decreases in eighth grade, in math it almost doubles. We also show that by failing to control for date of birth fixed effects we would have erroneously concluded that the SEA effect on math test scores decreases slightly from fifth grade to eight grade while it actually substantially increases. |
| Keywords: | school entrance age, student outcomes, date of birth |
| JEL: | I21 J24 |
| Date: | 2017–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10568&r=edu |
| By: | Cohen-Zada, Danny (Ben Gurion University); Elder, Todd E. (Michigan State University) |
| Abstract: | We analyze the role of formal religious education in the intergenerational transmission of religious values. We first develop a model of school choice in which the demand for religious schooling is driven partly by the desire of parents to limit their children's exposure to the influences of competing religions. The model predicts that when a religious group's share of the local population grows, the fraction of that group's members whose children attend religious schools declines. In addition, it shows that if the motivation to preserve religious identity is sufficiently strong, the fraction of all children that attend a given denomination's school is an inverse u-shaped function of the denomination's market share. Finally, the model implies that the overall demand for religious schooling is an increasing function of both the local religiosity rate and the level of religious pluralism, as measured by a Herfindahl Index. Using both U.S. county-level data and individual data from ECLS-K and NELS:88, we find evidence strongly consistent with all of the model's predictions. Our findings also illustrate that failing to control for the local religiosity rate, as is common in previous studies, may lead a researcher to erroneously conclude that religious pluralism has a negative effect on participation. |
| Keywords: | cultural transmission, school choice, religious pluralism, religious identity |
| JEL: | I21 Z12 |
| Date: | 2017–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10569&r=edu |
| By: | Aysit Tansel (Middle East Technical University); Deniz Karaoglan |
| 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. |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:1030&r=edu |
| By: | Gaeta, Giuseppe Lucio; Lavadera, Giuseppe Lubrano; Pastore, Francesco |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the literature on overeducation by empirically investigating the wage penalty of job-education mismatch among Ph.D. holders who completed their studies in Italy; a country where the number of new doctoral recipients has dramatically increased over recent years while personnel employed in R&D activities is still below the European average. We use cross-sectional micro-data collected in 2009 and rely on different definitions of education-job mismatch such as, overeducation, overskilling and dissatisfaction with the use of skills. We find that overeducation and skills dissatisfaction are associated with significantly lower wages but there is no wage penalty from overskilling. Furthermore, those who simultaneously report overeducation and skills dissatisfaction experience a particularly high wage penalty. |
| Keywords: | job-education mismatch,overeducation,overskilling,job satisfaction,wages,Ph.D. holders |
| JEL: | C26 I23 I26 J13 J24 J28 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:12&r=edu |
| By: | Ragui Assaad; Caroline Krafft (St. Catherine University) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we present a comparison of several dimensions of higher education processes linked to educational quality across different types of higher education institutions in three MENA countries: Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia. While an important comparison is across public and private institutions, we also distinguish across selective and non-selective institutions and by field of study. To keep the comparison tractable, we restrict our analysis to two broad fields of study, namely information technology and business/commercial studies. The rationale for selecting these fields is that they are the ones where private sector institutions are likely to be more prevalent in all three countries, allowing for meaningful comparisons by sector of ownership. The analysis is based on three similar surveys of higher education graduates from these two fields conducted by ERF with local partners in all three countries over the course of 2012 to 2015. |
| Date: | 2016–06–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:1069&r=edu |
| By: | Glewwe, Paul (University of Minnesota); Huang, Qiuqiong (University of Arkansas, Fayetteville); Park, Albert (Hong Kong University of Science & Technology) |
| Abstract: | Economists have long recognized the important role of formal schooling and cognitive skills on labor market participation and wages. More recently, increasing attention has turned to the role of personality traits, or noncognitive skills. This study is among the first to examine how both cognitive and noncognitive skills measured in childhood predict educational attainment and early labor market outcomes in a developing country setting. Analyzing longitudinal data on rural children from one of China's poorest provinces, we find that both cognitive and noncognitive skills, measured when children are 9-12, 13-16, and 17-21 years old, are important predictors of whether they remain in school or enter the work force at age 17-21. The predictive power of specific skill variables differ between boys and girls. Conditioning on years of schooling, there is no strong evidence that skills measured in childhood predict wages in the early years of labor market participation. |
| Keywords: | cognitive skills, noncognitive skills, school-to-work transition, schooling, rural China |
| JEL: | I25 J16 J24 O53 |
| Date: | 2017–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10566&r=edu |
| By: | Bolzern, Benjamin; Huber, Martin |
| Abstract: | Changes in compulsory schooling laws have been proposed as an instrument for the endogenous choice of schooling. It has been argued that raising minimum schooling exogenously increases the educational attainment of a subset of pupils without directly affecting later life outcomes such as income or health. Using the method of Huber and Mellace (2015) and data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, we jointly test random instrument assignment, weak monotonicity of education in the instrument, and the instrument exclusion restriction. The satisfaction of these restrictions permits identifying the local average treatment effect of education on those choosing more schooling as a reaction to the law change. Our results do not point to the invalidity of the schooling law instrument, though we acknowledge that even asymptotically, testing cannot detect all possible violations of instrument validity. |
| Keywords: | instrumental variable; schooling laws; schooling reforms ;treatment effects; LATE; tests |
| JEL: | C26 I12 I21 I28 J24 |
| Date: | 2017–03–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fri:fribow:fribow00480&r=edu |
| By: | Tony Beatton; Michael P. Kidd; Stephen Machin; Dipa Sarkar |
| Abstract: | If young people spend longer in school, are they less likely to commit crimes? Stephen Machin and international collaborators examine the impact on youth crime of an educational reform in Australia that raised the minimum school leaving age. |
| Keywords: | youth crime, schooling, Australia, Earning or Learning |
| JEL: | I2 K42 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepcnp:494&r=edu |
| By: | Schone, Pal (Institute for Social Research, Oslo); von Simson, Kristine (Institute for Social Research, Oslo); Strom, Marte (Institute for Social Research, Oslo) |
| Abstract: | We use idiosyncratic variation in gender composition across cohorts within Norwegian lower-secondary schools to analyze the impact of female peers on students' grades and choices of STEM subjects. We find that more female peers in lower secondary increases girls' probability of choosing STEM-courses in upper secondary, and the effect on choices is larger than the effect on grades. Survey evidence suggests that a potential mechanism is an improved classroom environment. Boys' performance is negatively affected by more female peers. They also start upper secondary later and more often choose vocational studies. |
| Keywords: | gender, education, peer effects |
| JEL: | I21 J16 |
| Date: | 2017–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10586&r=edu |
| By: | Caroline Krafft (St. Catherine University); Halimat Alawode |
| Abstract: | Problems with inequality have been at the forefront of recent events in the Middle East and North Africa region. Yet by conventional measures such as wages and consumption, inequality is not particularly high. In this paper we explore an alternative dimension of inequality, specifically inequality of opportunity in higher education. We assess the determinants of attaining higher education in Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia and quantify the extent and drivers of inequality of opportunity. We find that inequality is similarly high in Egypt and Tunisia, but moderate in Jordan. In all three countries family socio-economic characteristics are the primary driver of inequality. Family characteristics affect attainment even after accounting for test scores, which are themselves influenced by socio-economic status. Particularly in Egypt and Tunisia, where higher education is free of charge, public spending on higher education is ultimately regressive. Thus, a theoretically meritocratic and equitable system perpetuates inequality. |
| Date: | 2016–10–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:1056&r=edu |
| By: | John Jerrim (Department of Social Science, UCL Institute of Education, University College London); Luis Alejandro Lopez-Agudo (Departamento de Economía Aplicada (Estadística y Econometría). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales. Universidad de Málaga); Oscar D. Marcenaro-Gutierrez (Departamento de Economía Aplicada (Estadística y Econometría). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales. Universidad de Málaga); Nikki Shure (Department of Social Science, UCL Institute of Education and Institute of Labor Economics) |
| Abstract: | International large-scale assessments such as PISA are increasingly being used to benchmark the academic performance of young people across the world. Yet many of the technicalities underpinning these datasets are miss-understood by applied researchers, who sometimes fail to take into account their complex survey and test designs. The aim of this paper is to generate a better understanding amongst economists about how such databases are created, and what this implies for the empirical methodologies one should or should not apply. In doing so, we explain how some of the modelling strategies preferred by economists is at odds with the design of these studies. In doing so, we hope to generate a better understanding of international large-scale education datasets, and promote better practice in their use. |
| Keywords: | Survey design; Test design; PISA; Weights; Replicate weights; Plausible values |
| JEL: | I20 C18 C10 C55 |
| Date: | 2017–02–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qss:dqsswp:1704&r=edu |
| By: | Barbara Ermini (Universita' Politecnica delle Marche, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali); Luca Papi (Universita' Politecnica delle Marche, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali, MoFiR); Francesca Scaturro (Universita' Politecnica delle Marche, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali) |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the impact of the Great Recession on Ph.D over-education using data drawn from four annual cohorts of Ph.D graduates surveyed by the Italian National Institute of Statistics. Over-education is examined through the definitions of both over-skilling and over-qualification.The results show that over-skilling is positively associated with the Great Recession, whereas the relationship between the crisis and over-qualification is statistically significant only when the estimated model includes interaction terms for the crisis and jobs within academia or R&D-related sectors. More generally, working on research-based activities and study experience abroad are always significant drivers to overcome any kind of job mismatch. Conversely, being self-employed increases the risk of over-education, casting some doubts on the satisfactory additionality of Ph.D employment trajectories beyond academia and research. Finally, in contrast with previous results for graduates, we find that socio-demographic variables do not exert a significant influence on Ph.D over-education. |
| Keywords: | Over-education, Over-skilling, Over-qualification, Ph.D graduates, Great Recession |
| JEL: | C2 I2 J24 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wpaper:420&r=edu |
| By: | Mehmet S. Tosun (University of Nevada, Reno, ERF, IZA and OIPA) |
| Abstract: | In this study, I examine the links between demographic change and fiscal policy in MENA countries, focusing specifically on the economic impacts coming from the conflict between social security and education, which are two of the most government programs in any country. The paper is unique as it incorporates a political economy model of education given expected increases in social security spending in the background. Labor movements and growth results are expected to depend significantly on the return to education. A sensitivity analysis on the parameter that shows the return to education spending reveals that MENA countries would suffer significantly from a lower return to education. This scenario highlights the importance of returns to education for the growth results in the MENA region. It is also important to note that the MENA region could potentially experience significant positive economic growth if it can maintain a high return to education and also attract more capital, despite a rising fiscal burden coming from the social security system. |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:1023&r=edu |
| By: | Baldanzi, Annarita; Bucci, Alberto; Prettner, Klaus |
| Abstract: | We analyze the effects of children's health on human capital accumulation and on long-run economic growth. For this purpose we design an R&D-based growth model in which the stock of human capital of the next generation is determined by parental education and health investments. We show that i) there is a complementarity between education and health: if parents want to have better educated children, they also raise health investments and vice versa; ii) parental health investments exert an unambiguously positive effect on long-run economic growth, iii) faster population growth reduces long-run economic growth. These results are consistent with the empirical evidence for modern economies in the twentieth century. |
| Keywords: | Children's Health,Education,Fertility,Economic Growth,Technological Progress,Long-run Economic Development |
| JEL: | I15 I25 J10 O30 O41 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:hohdps:012017&r=edu |
| By: | Alberto González Pandiella (OECD); Mabel Gabriel (OECD) |
| Abstract: | Despite an improvement in overall macroeconomic performance in Costa Rica, income inequality has risen and is currently at its maximum historical value. This is in stark contrast with other Latin American countries, which have recently made significant progress in reducing inequality. This study analyses the drivers of inequality in Costa Rica by decomposing the Gini coefficient by income source, finding that the main contributor to inequality in Costa Rica is labour income. In the period 2010-2014, public sector wages made the largest contribution to inequality, in particular wages of qualified workers. Within the public sector, wages of those working in public agencies outside central government contributed the most. Inequality has also been driven by a large and increasing skills premium in the private sector. Workers holding a tertiary degree earn, on average, nearly four times as much as those with only primary education. Social programmes, such as non-contributory pensions, do contribute to reduce inequality but their impact is limited given its small share in households’ total income. The analysis also quantifies the marginal effect on inequality of the different income sources, finding that an increase in wages of low qualified workers in the private sector would have the largest marginal impact to reduce inequality. Conversely, increases in wages of qualified workers in public and private sector would result in the highest increases in inequality. |
| Keywords: | gini coefficient, income inequality, income source decomposition, skills premium, wages |
| JEL: | D31 H53 J30 J31 O15 |
| Date: | 2017–03–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1377-en&r=edu |
| By: | Burhan, Nik Ahmad Sufian; Md. Yunus, Melor; Tovar, María Elena Labastida; Burhan, Nik Mohd Ghazi |
| Abstract: | Path analysis was employed to examine the effects of socioeconomic factors on children’s level of cognitive ability (measured by PISA scores) at a cross-country level (N=55). The results showed that children’s level of schooling had a positive direct effect on their cognitive ability, while the direct effects of adult fertility rate and child mortality were significantly negative. As we found that child mortality had the largest total effect on cognitive ability, the results also confirmed that per capita income had indirectly channeled its positive effect on cognitive ability through the reduction in child mortality. Moreover, in the long term, parents’ education level had the largest positive indirect effect on cognitive ability because it significantly increased children’s schooling rate and reduced the fertility rate. We suggest that, in the countries considered herein, well-educated parents have higher awareness of quality of life that indirectly raises the cognitive ability of their children. |
| Keywords: | cognitive ability; cross-country analysis; education; parents; PISA scores; socioeconomic |
| JEL: | I25 J13 O20 |
| Date: | 2016–09–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:77239&r=edu |
| By: | Giulietti, Corrado; Rettore, Enrico; Tonini, Sara |
| Abstract: | Understanding the formation of trust at the individual level is a key issue given the impact that it has been recognized to have on economic development. Theoretical work highlights the role of the transmission of values such as trust from parents to their children. Attempts to empirically measure the strength of this transmission relied so far on the cross-sectional regression of the trust of children on the contemporaneous trust of their parents. We introduce a new identification strategy which hinges on a panel of parents and their children drawn from the German Socio-Economic Panel. Our results show that: 1) a half to two thirds of the observed variability of trust is pure noise irrelevant to the transmission process; 2) this noise strongly biases the parameter estimates of the OLS regression of children's trust on parents' trust; however an instrumental variable procedure straightforwardly emerges from the analysis; 3) the dynamics of the component of trust relevant to the transmission process shed light on the structural interpretation of the parameters of this regression; 4) the strength of the flow of trust that parents pass to their children as well as of the sibling correlations due to other factors are easily summarized by the conventional R2 of a latent equation. In our sample, approximately one fourth of the variability of children's trust is inherited from their parents while two thirds are attributable to the residual sibling correlation. |
| Keywords: | Trust,Intergenerational transmission,Siblings correlations,Cultural transmission |
| JEL: | J62 P16 Z1 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:19&r=edu |