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on Education |
| By: | Avila-Uribe, Antonio (London School of Economics); Roth, Sefi (London School of Economics); Shields, Brian (London School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the impact of London's Low-Emission Zone (LEZ) on test scores among elementary school students in England. Utilising administrative data for the years 2005-2015, we employ a difference-in-differences approach to assess the LEZ's effect on standardised Key Stage 2 results (age 11). Our analysis reveals a statistically and economically significant improvement of 0.09 standard deviations in test scores for students within the LEZ compared to those in other urban control areas. Importantly, we also find that the LEZ policy has larger positive effects in low-performing schools, demonstrating its potential to significantly reduce educational disparities. |
| Keywords: | air pollution, education, low emission zone |
| JEL: | Q53 I20 I24 |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17020&r= |
| By: | Collante Zárate, Sofía (Universidad de los Andes); Rodríguez Orgales, Catherine (Universidad de los Andes); Sanchez Torres, Fabio (Universidad de los Andes) |
| Abstract: | Does a meal make a difference in the educational process? This article presents the results of the evaluation of Colombia’s School Feeding Program (PAE) on educational outcomes. The estimates exploit that the program’s rollout varies over time across municipalities, schools, and grades between the same school. The analysis uses information from seven years of the universe of students attending public schools and the census information of the students enrolled in higher education. Compared to grades without PAE, we find that the dropout rate of grades with PAE is between 10% and 25% lower, and grade repetition is between 7% and 13% lower. We also find that the PAE increases high school completion rates by 39%, improves educational achievement measured with the Saber 11 test by 0.1 standard deviations, and elevates access to higher education by 20%. The program is perceived as an incentive for students to attend school and a mechanism for improving the learning process, resulting in higher human capital. |
| Keywords: | School feeding; education; school permanence; educational achievement; impact evaluation; Colombia |
| JEL: | I20 I21 I28 O15 |
| Date: | 2024–07–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000089:021155&r= |
| By: | García-Echalar, Andrés (Universidad de los Andes); Poblete, Sebastián (Northwestern University); Rau, Tomas (Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile) |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the effect of teachers on the gender gap in student test scores. It combines different empirical strategies from the value-added and labor economics literature to estimate teacher value-added and its contribution to the math and reading gender gaps. We use rich administrative data from Chile, that allows us to follow teachers through different classes in different years. Our main findings indicate that teachers explain up to 18% of student test score variance and help reduce the gender gap in math by 16.9%. The reduction in the math gender gap is greater in voucher schools (16.1%), among students with more educated mothers (24%) and among those with female math teachers (32.2%). We provide evidence supporting a within-class effect instead of sorting (between-class effect). We conduct several tests and robustness checks to assess the reliability of our findings. |
| Keywords: | teacher value-added, test scores gender gap, between and within class variation |
| JEL: | I21 I24 J16 |
| Date: | 2024–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17054&r= |
| By: | Bolyard, Atticus (Harvard University); Savelyev, Peter A. (Virginia Commonwealth University) |
| Abstract: | Based on the sample of The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), we investigate the formation of health capital and the role played by genetic endowments, parental SES, and education. To measure genetic endowments we take advantage of the new availability of quality polygenic indexes (PGIs), which are optimally-weighted summaries of individual molecular genetic data. Our main focus is on the Educational Attainment Polygenic Index (EA PGI), which is designed to predict the highest level of education achieved in life. We find that the EA PGI demonstrates stronger effects on health and health behaviors for subjects with high parental socioeconomic status (SES). These effects are only partially explained by education as a mechanism. We provide suggestive evidence for the mechanisms behind estimated relationships, including early health, skills, and the parents' and child's own attitudes towards education, as well as outcomes related to occupation and wealth. We also show that a strong association between education and health survives controlling for a large set of PGIs that proxy health, skills, and home environment, with only a modest reduction in regression coefficients despite controlling for major expected confounders. This result informs the ongoing debate about the causal relationship between education and health and the confounders behind the education-health gradient. |
| Keywords: | health, health behaviors, Polygenic Index (PGI), Polygenic Score (PGS), Educational Attainment, parental socioeconomic status (SES), child development, education, mediators, Add Health data |
| JEL: | I12 I14 I24 J24 |
| Date: | 2024–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17056&r= |
| By: | Gehrsitz, Markus (University of Strathclyde); Williams, Jr., Morgan C. (Barnard College) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effects of education on health and hospitalization over the life cycle. Using administrative data, we leverage a 1972 compulsory schooling reform within the United Kingdom which produced a large increase in educational attainment among affected cohorts. Our regression discontinuity design estimates suggest that the reform led to substantial reductions in hospitalization among men admitted for lifestyle-related conditions. We also report novel estimates showing that these effects vary heterogeneously over the life-cycle – with the largest health improvements occurring among men in their middle-aged years. However, we find no evidence that the reform impacted mortality during working-age years. |
| Keywords: | health, education, compulsory schooling, life cycle, gender differences |
| JEL: | I10 I12 I14 I20 |
| Date: | 2024–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17050&r= |
| By: | Martins, Pedro S.; Ferreira, João R. |
| Abstract: | We evaluate a political reform in Portugal that introduced individual teacher performancerelated pay and tournaments in public schools. We find that the focus on individual performance decreased student achievement, as measured in national exams, and increased grade inflation. The results follow from a difference-in-differences analysis of matched student-school panels and two complementary control groups: public schools in regions that were exposed to lighter reforms; and private schools, whose teachers had their incentives unchanged. Students in public schools with a higher proportion of teachers exposed to the tournament also perform worse. Overall, our results highlight the potential social costs from disruption of cooperation amongst public sector workers due to competition for promotions. |
| Keywords: | Tournaments, Public Sector, Teacher Merit Pay, Matched School-Student Data |
| JEL: | I21 M52 I28 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1441&r= |