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on Education |
| By: | Victor Lavy; Rigissa Megalokonomou |
| Abstract: | A recent critique of using teachers’ test score value-added (TVA) is that teacher quality is multifaceted; some teachers are effective in raising test scores, others are effective in improving long-term outcomes This paper exploits an institutional setting where high school teachers are randomly assigned to classes to compute multiple long-run TVA measures based on university schooling outcomes and high school behavior. We find substantial correlations between test scores and long-run TVA but zero correlations between these two TVA measures and behavior TVA. We find that short-term test-score TVA and long-run TVA are highly correlated and equally good predictors of long-term outcomes. |
| Keywords: | teacher quality, quasi-experimental random assignment, university quality, choice of university study, panel information on teachers, teacher value added |
| JEL: | J24 J21 J16 I24 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11216 |
| By: | Diehl, Claudia; Pomianowicz, Katja; Hinz, Thomas |
| Abstract: | Based on an innovative survey of seventh graders in German secondary schools, this paper analyzes students' feelings that they should be on a higher educational track, We show that ethnic minority students are not only more likely than majority students to be placed in the lowest track, but they are also more likely to perceive this track placement as a mismatch, We test two explanations for this "perception gap" between the two groups, First, minority students may actually be more likely than majority students to be placed in a track that is too low for them (exposure to unfair treatment), Second, they are more likely than majority students to attend the lower educational tracks and to have highly ambitious parents, As a result, they may feel a greater need to attribute their limited educational success to unfair treatment in order to protect their self-esteem (ex-post rationalization of failure), We find that, compared to majority students, minority students' perceptions of being on the wrong track do not primarily reflect unfair treatment, Rather, it is high and unmet parental expectations that account for the "perception gap" between majority and minority students. |
| Keywords: | educational inequality, educational aspirations, perceptions of inequality, school tracking, children of immigrants |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cexwps:300839 |
| By: | Joel Huesler (University of Bern) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of hurricanes on school attendance in Jamaica from 1892 to 1942, a period marked by significant natural disasters, including four category two hurricanes. By integrating monthly school attendance data from the fourteen Jamaican parishes with assessments of potential storm destruction, the paper quantifies the effect of hurricanes on school attendance. The average effect of a category two hurricane was a 9.1% decrease in school attendance in the month of the hurricane, followed by decreases of 8.6% and 7.2% in the following two months. Consequently, nearly 400 children miss school for one month, with over 310 children missing school for three months. Mediation analysis further indicates a decline in school performance by up to 3.23%, indirectly caused by decreased school attendance. This paper highlights the lasting impact of hurricanes on educational outcomes, especially in countries with agrarian economies and underdeveloped education systems. |
| Keywords: | Education, Environmental Economic History, Natural Disasters |
| JEL: | I25 N36 N96 Q54 |
| Date: | 2024–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hes:wpaper:0264 |
| By: | Sana Khan; Gianna Claudia Giannelli; Lucia Ferrone |
| Abstract: | Education is widely believed to have positive effects on multiple aspects of health outcomes. Nevertheless, the extent to which this association is causal or the factors that could explain the observed correlation remain uncertain, particularly in low-income nations. This study examines the causal impact of maternal education on child nutritional outcomes and their dietary diversity. The empirical research employed a fuzzy regression discontinuity design, where school reform exposure in 2003 is utilized as an instrumental variable to measure educational achievement in Kenya. The findings indicate that increasing a year’s education of women enhances the nutritional status and dietary diversity of her children. One more year of women's schooling considerably affects a child's nutritional status, regardless of their gender. However, the effect is slightly better for boys than girls. The results are also robust across sensitivity tests. Further investigation indicates that the pathways through which maternal education enhances child health outcomes include factors such as the mother's age at first birth, the total number of children under the age of five, the father's level of education, the frequency of prenatal care visits, women's access to information through reading newspapers and watching television, the mother's literacy level, and her employment status. The results of the study suggest that increasing access to education, specifically for young girls, in developing nations such as Kenya may serve as an effective policy tool to improve the nutritional outcomes and feeding practices of children. |
| Keywords: | Maternal education, Education reform, Child nutritional outcomes and dietary diversity, Fuzzy regression discontinuity design, Kenya |
| JEL: | I1 I12 I21 I25 I28 O12 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:frz:wpaper:wp2024_12.rdf |
| By: | Ben-Amon Kosbab (University of Konstanz & Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | Large parts of the population in developing countries depend on agriculture for their income and food security. However, agriculture-dependent households are vulnerable to agricultural shocks, which prevent them from investing in education, thus hindering their socio-economic progress and their ability to reduce dependence on agriculture. Research on the impact of agricultural shocks on education predominantly focuses on those caused by extreme weather events and fluctuations in agricultural commodity prices. The impact of large-scale land acquisitions on education has not been studied, despite their growing number and potential to disrupt the agricultural production of small-scale farmers. This paper fills the research gap by hypothesizing that large-scale land acquisitions negatively impact the education of people in their vicinity due to resulting food insecurity and income loss, leading households to divert educational resources to basic needs and withdraw children from school to contribute to income. The negative impact on education is expected to be more pronounced for boys, who find rural employment more easily and are thus more frequently withdrawn from school. Employing a geospatial approach, this paper links 322 large-scale land acquisitions in Africa to 46, 711 Afrobarometer respondents. The results of the regression analysis indicate that being affected by a large-scale land acquisition between the ages of 0 and 16 has a statistically significant negative impact on education. The hypothesized stronger negative impact on male education is not supported by the results. The findings imply that large-scale land acquisitions hinder rural development and entrench poverty, contrary to claims by investors and politicians. |
| Keywords: | education, large-scale land acquisition, agricultural shocks, rural development |
| JEL: | I20 I24 I25 |
| Date: | 2024–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aiw:wpaper:36 |
| By: | Francisca M. Antman; Brian Duncan; Michael F. Lovenheim |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the long-run impacts of banning affirmative action on men and women from under-represented minority (URM) racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Using data from the US Census and American Community Survey, we use a difference-in-differences framework to compare the college degree completion, graduate degree completion, earnings, and employment of URM individuals to non-URM individuals before and after affirmative action bans went into effect across several US states. We also employ event study analyses and alternative estimators to confirm the validity of our approach and discuss the generalizability of the findings. Results suggest that banning affirmative action results in a decline in URM women’s college degree completion, earnings, and employment relative to non-Hispanic White women, driven largely by impacts on Hispanic women. Thus, affirmative action bans resulted in an increase in racial/ethnic disparities in both college degree completion and earnings among women. Effects on URM men are more ambiguous and indicate significant heterogeneity across states, with some estimates pointing to a possible positive impact on labor market outcomes of Black men. These results suggest that the relative magnitude of college quality versus mismatch effects vary for URM men and women and highlight the importance of disaggregating results by gender, race, and ethnicity. We conclude by discussing how our results compare with others in the literature and directions for future research. |
| JEL: | I23 J15 J18 |
| Date: | 2024–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32778 |
| By: | Alexander W. Bartik; Elizabeth Rhodes; David E. Broockman; Patrick K. Krause; Sarah Miller; Eva Vivalt |
| Abstract: | We provide new evidence on the causal effect of unearned income on consumption, balance sheets, and financial outcomes by exploiting an experiment that randomly assigned 1000 individuals to receive $1000 per month and 2000 individuals to receive $50 per month for three years. The transfer increased measured household expenditures by at least $300 per month. The spending impact is positive in most categories, and is largest for housing, food, and car expenses. The treatment increases housing unit and neighborhood mobility. We find noisily estimated modest positive effects on asset values, driven by financial assets, but these gains are offset by higher debt, resulting in a near-zero effect on net worth. The transfer increased self-reported financial health and credit scores but did not affect credit limits, delinquencies, utilization, bankruptcies, or foreclosures. Adjusting for underreporting, we estimate marginal propensities to consume non-durables between 0.44 and 0.55, durables and semi-durables between 0.21 and 0.26, and marginal propensities to de-lever of near zero. These results suggest that large temporary transfers increase short-term consumption and improve financial health but may not cause persistent improvements in the financial position of young, low-income households. |
| JEL: | D14 E21 H53 G50 |
| Date: | 2024–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32784 |