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on Education |
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Issue of 2014‒03‒30
fourteen papers chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao Universidade da Beira Interior and Universidade de Lisboa |
| By: | Humlum, Maria Knoth (Aarhus University); Smith, Nina (Aarhus University) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the effect of school size on students' long-term outcomes such as high school completion, being out of the labor market, and earnings at the age of 30. We use rich register data on the entire population of Danish children attending grade 9 in the period 1986-2004. This allows us to compare the results of different fixed effect and instrumental variables estimators. We use the natural population variation in the residential catchment areas and school openings and closures to instrument for actual school size. We find a robust positive but numerically fairly small relationship between school size and alternative measures of long-term success in the educational system and the labor market. The positive impact of school size seems mainly to be driven by boys, students from families with a low educational level and students attending schools in urban areas. |
| Keywords: | school size, high school graduation, student outcomes |
| JEL: | I21 I28 J24 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8032&r=edu |
| By: | Robert Bifulco (Syracuse University); Jason Fletcher; Sun Jung Oh; Stephen L. Ross (University of Connecticut) |
| Abstract: | Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examines the impact of high school cohort composition on the educational and labor market outcomes of individuals during their early 20s and again during their late 20s and early 30s. We find that the positive effects of having more high school classmates with a college educated mother on college attendance in the years immediately following high school decline as students reach their later 20s and early 30s, and are not followed by comparable effects on college completion and labor market outcomes. The results suggest that factors that increase college attendance are not always sufficient to improve college graduation rates and longer term outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Education, Peer Effects, Cohort Study |
| JEL: | I21 I24 J15 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hka:wpaper:2014-005&r=edu |
| By: | La, Vincent |
| Abstract: | The effect of education on wages has been a widely explored topic. This paper will contribute to the existing literature by studying the causal effect of education on wages in China, a context which has been far less studied. China's compulsory education laws and minimum age labor laws provide potentially exogenous changes in educational attainment. The first goal of this paper will be to estimate the private return to education in China (the effect of an extra year of individual educational attainment on wages). Using China's compulsory education law as an instrument for individual educational attainment, we fail to find a statistically significant return on education in aggregate. However, using China's minimum age labor law as an instrument, we find that an increase in individual educational attainment by one year raises earnings by about 9%. |
| Keywords: | Labor Market, Education, Effect of Education on Wages, Private Return to Schooling |
| JEL: | I20 J16 J30 |
| Date: | 2014–03–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:54578&r=edu |
| By: | James J. Heckman; John Eric Humphries; Gregory Veramendi; Sergio Urzúa |
| Abstract: | This paper develops and estimates a model with multiple schooling choices that identifies the causal effect of different levels of schooling on health, health-related behaviors, and labor market outcomes. We develop an approach that is a halfway house between a reduced form treatment effect model and a fully formulated dynamic discrete choice model. It is computationally tractable and identifies the causal effects of educational choices at different margins. We estimate distributions of responses to education and find evidence for substantial heterogeneity in unobserved variables on which agents make choices. The estimated treatment effects of education are decomposed into the direct benefits of attaining a given level of schooling and indirect benefits from the option to continue on to further schooling. Continuation values are an important component of our estimated treatment effects. While the estimated causal effects of education are substantial for most outcomes, we also estimate a quantitatively important effect of unobservables on outcomes. Both cognitive and socioemotional factors contribute to shaping educational choices and labor market and health outcomes. We improve on LATE by identifying the groups affected by variations in the instruments. We find benefits of cognition on most outcomes apart from its effect on schooling attainment. The benefits of socioemotional skills on outcomes beyond their effects on schooling attainment are less precisely estimated. |
| JEL: | C32 C38 I12 I14 I21 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19971&r=edu |
| By: | Fabio Landini (Department of Economics, University of Siena); Natalia Montinari (University of Lund); Paolo Pin (University of Siena); Marco Piovesan (Department of Economics, Copenhagen University) |
| Abstract: | We interview both parents and their children enrolled in six primary schools in the district of Treviso (Italy). We study the structural differences between the children network of friends reported by children and the one elicited asking their parents. We find that the parents’ network has a bias: parents expect peer effects on school achievement to be stronger than what they really are. Thus, parents of low-performing students report their children to be friends of high-performing students. Our numerical simulations indicate that when this bias is combined with a bias on how some children target friends, then there is a multiplier effect on the expected school achievement. |
| Keywords: | Social networks, primary school, friendships, parents' bias, homophily, peer effects, bonacich centrality |
| JEL: | D85 I21 Z13 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kud:kuiedp:1406&r=edu |
| By: | Mohammad Alauddin (School of Economics, The University of Queensland); Adrian Ashman (School of Education, The University of Queensland) |
| Abstract: | Student populations in higher education in Australia and elsewhere in the developed world have experienced significant diversity over the past two decades. The existing literature has provided limited clarity about the effects of this diversity on the dimensions underpinning students’ study philosophy domain. Based on a large data set from a leading Australian university, this paper analyses students’ study philosophy, beliefs and attitudes towards teaching and learning. Factor analysis explored themes (or dimensions) within the survey. Multivariate analysis of variance used these dimensions as dependent variables with age, sex, ethnicity, study discipline, study level, academic performance and sex/ethnicity interaction as grouping variables to identify significant sources of variations. Deep learning, expediency and responsibility reflected the students’ study philosophy domain. Deep learning and responsibility varied with ethnicity and academic performance. Expediency differed according to ethnicity, study discipline and academic performance. Students in business-related disciplines displayed greater expediency than peers elsewhere, treating education like any other commodity. The contribution of this study lies in its rigorous analysis of the impact of the diversity of the student population on the study philosophy domain, compared to the existing literature. |
| Date: | 2014–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qld:uq2004:511&r=edu |
| By: | Quentin Max David |
| Abstract: | In this paper, I analyze the determinants of research production by higher education institutionsin the United States. I use four measures to build an index of top-level academic researchproduction. I show that it is important to account for the presence of outliers in both dimensions(x and y axes), and that most top-ranked institutions can be considered outliers. I find thatuniversity income, the share of income devoted to research expenses, and faculty size significantlyincrease the ability of an institution to produce top-level academic research. I also show that therelationship between average professor quality (proxied by salary) and the production of researchis U-shaped, with a significant share of institutions located on the decreasing part of the curve. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ict:wpaper:2013/157280&r=edu |
| By: | AKAI Nobuo; SUETOMI Kaori; SENOH Wataru; MIZUTA Kensuke |
| Abstract: | Amid the decreasing labor force caused by the low birthrate and the aging population, Japan urgently needs to increase the knowledge and productivity levels of each citizen in order to maintain economic growth for the future as a mature society. Against this background, it has become crucial to accumulate human capital through education and effectively utilize the limited funds intended for this accumulation. To realize this, the most important point is to clarify the current and future flow of funds and design an effective, efficient, and fair educational finance system (optimal allocation of resources under fiscal constraint) under an educational governance system with accountability and transparency. It seems, however, that scarcely any previous research has been conducted on this subject from the viewpoints of analyzing educational finance focusing on the flow of funds and beyond educational levels. This research project focused on how the fiscal burden of public education for developing human capital that promotes economic growth should be designed, in the light of these two viewpoints. The following are the policy implications that resulted from the extensive research conducted in this project. 1. Educational investment remains an effective policy for achieving faster economic growth; also, it is recommended to focus investment on graduates of high school and those of higher education. 2. To ensure the implementation of our educational policy, it is important to clarify and prepare for the future fiscal burden associated with each school's characteristics. It is also important to take into consideration the regional differences across Japan. 3. Securing the school budget is important to improve educational outcomes. 4. Governance of educational finance which most greatly prioritizes human resources is important. |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rdpsjp:14009&r=edu |
| By: | Ellen Greaves (Institute for Fiscal Studies); Luke Sibieta (Institute for Fiscal Studies) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides causal estimates of the effect of teacher pay on pupil attainment using a sharp geographical discontinuity in teacher salaries. We compare schools in close proximity to a pay zone boundary to estimate the effect of teacher salary differentials on pupil attainment. We find that these differences in salary scales do translate into differences into actual teacher pay levels. However, we find little evidence that higher teacher salary scales increases pupil attainment in national assessments at age 11, and are able to rule out quantitatively small effects of 0.07 and 0.02 standard deviations in English and maths, respectively. These results imply that variations in teacher pay of the magnitude we observe (around 5%) are unlikely to be effective for attracting and retaining higher quality teachers. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:14/03&r=edu |
| By: | Theodore J. Joyce; Sean Crockett; David A. Jaeger; Onur Altindag; Stephen D. O'Connell |
| Abstract: | We test whether students in a hybrid format of introductory microeconomics, which met once per week, performed as well as students in a traditional lecture format of the same class, which met twice per week. We randomized 725 students at a large, urban public university into the two formats, and unlike past studies, had a very high participation rate of 96 percent. Two experienced professors taught one section of each format, and students in both formats had access to the same online materials. We find that students in the traditional format scored 2.3 percentage points more on a 100-point scale on the combined midterm and final. There were no differences between formats in non-cognitive effort (attendance, time spent with online materials) nor in withdrawal from the class. Comparing our experimental estimates of the effect of attendance with non-experimental estimates using only students in the traditional format, we find that the non-experimental were 2.5 times larger, suggesting that the large effects of attending lectures found in the previous literature are likely due to selection bias. Overall our results suggest that hybrid classes may offer a cost effective alternative to traditional lectures while having a small impact on student performance. |
| JEL: | I20 I23 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20006&r=edu |
| By: | Mussa, Richard |
| Abstract: | This paper looks at the relationship between the likelihood of being in regular wage employment and parental education for Malawian youth. It uses data from the third integrated household survey (IHS3). Only a mother's education is found to have a statistically significant effect on the likelihood of being in regular wage employment for young females and males. It is established that the effect of a mother's education on young males is significantly larger than that for young females. The paper also finds that regardless of gender, a mother's education complements/reinforces the positive effect of a youth's own education on the probability of being in wage employment. The evidence from this paper points to the existence of an intergenerational poverty trap; with children of uneducated mothers or mothers with low education finding themselves outside regular wage jobs. |
| Keywords: | youth employment; parental education; Malawi |
| JEL: | J2 |
| Date: | 2014–03–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:54629&r=edu |
| By: | Sandra Nieto (Faculty of Economics, University of Barcelona) |
| Abstract: | The literature on educational mismatches finds that overeducated workers suffer a wage penalty compared with properly educated workers with the same level of education. Recent literature also suggests that individuals’ skill heterogeneity could explain wage differences between overeducated and properly matched workers. The hypothesis is that overeducated workers earn less due to their lower competences and skills in relative terms. However, that hypothesis has been rarely tested due to data limitations on individuals’ skills. The aim of this paper is to test the individuals’ skill heterogeneity theory in Spain using microdata from PIAAC, because it is one of the developed countries supporting the highest overeducation rates and where its adult population holds the lowest level of skills among a set of developed countries. Our hypothesis is that the wage penalty of overeducation in Spain is explained by the lower skill level of overeducated workers. The obtained evidence confirms this hypothesis but only to a certain extent as skills only explain partially the wage penalty of overeducation. |
| Keywords: | overeducation, individual’s skill heterogeneity, wages JEL classification: J31, I21, C13 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ira:wpaper:201411&r=edu |
| By: | Malwina Mejer |
| Abstract: | Universities are increasingly being called upon to contribute to economic development and competitiveness. This Study aims to assess contribution of academic scientists working at universities located in the French-speaking Community of Belgium to patented technology. Matching names of academic scientists to inventors listed on patent applications filed at the EPO between 1994-2007, we find that 9-12% of academics working in science are inventors, among them 23% are woman. Academic scientists are listed as inventors on 6.5% of the EPO patent applications filed by résidents of the French-speaking Community of Belgium. Universities are applicants on only 33.3% of patents invented by their scientists but this share has increased significantly in recent years. These results are then compared with similar trends in other European countries and in the United States. |
| Keywords: | academic patenting, universities, Europe, matching |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ict:wpaper:2013/149160&r=edu |
| By: | Anja Schoen; Joachim Henkel; Bruno Van Pottelsberghe |
| Abstract: | Despite the growing interest in university-to-industry technology transfer, there are very few studies on the governance of universities’ technology transfer offices (TTOs). The few existing ones tend to focus on U.S. universities and generally tackle one dimension of the governance. The present paper aims at contributing to this literature in two ways. First, it takes into account the diversity of organizational models with a theoretical perspective: the paper presents a discussion on which combinations of four structural dimensions should yield viable configurations. Four main types of TTOs are identified: (1) classical TTO; (2) autonomous TTO; (3) discipline-integrated Technology Transfer Alliance; and (4) discipline-specialized Technology Transfer Alliance. Second, the paper relies on 16 case studies of universities located in six European countries in order to address the pros and cons of the four types of TTOs. The results provide both a conceptual understanding and an empirical overview of how universities organize their technology transfer and intellectual property management. |
| Keywords: | Technology transfer offices; organizational structure; governance; academic patents |
| JEL: | L30 O31 O32 O34 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ict:wpaper:2013/149105&r=edu |