|
on Education |
|
Issue of 2015‒03‒22
forty papers chosen by João Carlos Correia Leitão Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Jaap Dronkers; Dronkers; Roxanne-Amanda Korthals |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to investigate the relation between tracking and migrant students’ performance (and parental background), taking into account school selection policies, and to compare the results across natives, first and second generation migrants. We combine two insights: the need to take into account school level variables when estimating the relation between education system and student performance and the need for including region of origin to correctly estimate models for migrant students. We use PISA 2009, selecting 31 countries with school features, of which 15 countries with information on the region of origin of the migrant students. We run separate analyses for native and first and second generation migrants, without and with origin dummies. We find that migrant students in education systems with many tracks which are themselves in schools in which the principal always considers prior performance in accepting students to the school have equal or higher scores than students in systems with only one track. However, in the full sample the influence of education systems for first generation students is absent: their performance is nearly only based on individual and school characteristics, while the performance of second generation migrant students is also influenced by tracks or prior performance. Still, the influence of the combination of tracks and entrance selection is weaker than that for native students. |
| Keywords: | Cross-national comparison, migrant students, native students, education system, schools with and without entrance-selection based on prior achievement, PISA data, origin countriesCreation-Date: 2015-03 |
| JEL: | I21 I24 J15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hdl:improv:1508&r=edu |
| By: | Rehman, Mobeen |
| Abstract: | Role of Educational Data Mining Model in university course selection by the students. |
| Keywords: | Data Mining |
| JEL: | I21 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:62680&r=edu |
| By: | Felice Martinello (Department of Economics, Brock University) |
| Abstract: | University policies, such as the last date for withdrawal from courses without academic penalty and tuition refund schedules, vary across universities and over time. Data on those policies at 38 Canadian universities, 1997-2005, are used to estimate their relation to whether students: (i) continued in their first university program, (ii) switched to another program or institution, or (iii) exited post secondary education. The Youth in Transition Survey, Cohort B, provides data on students’ characteristics and education outcomes. Controls for students’ characteristics and backgrounds, cohort year effects, and university characteristics are included. Students enrolled in schools with more generous tuition refund schedules are less likely to exit post secondary education between second and third year, but the result is not robust to the inclusion of individual university fixed effects. Students facing later withdrawal deadlines are more likely to switch (transfer) to other programs or institutions between their first and second year, in both the university characteristics and university fixed effects specifications. |
| Keywords: | post secondary education, persistence, academic regulations, tuition, transfers, exit |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:brk:wpaper:1501&r=edu |
| By: | Hospido, Laura (Bank of Spain); Villanueva, Ernesto (Bank of Spain); Zamarro, Gema (University of Southern California) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the impact on objective measures of financial literacy of a 10-hours financial education program among 15-year old students in compulsory secondary schooling. We use a matched sample of students and teachers in Madrid and two different estimation strategies. Firstly, we use reweighting estimators to compare the performance in a test of financial knowledge of students in treatment and control schools. In another specification, we use school fixed-effect estimates of the effect of the course on change in the score in tests of financial knowledge. The program increased treated students' financial knowledge by between one fourth and one third of a standard deviation. We uncover heterogeneous effects, as students in private schools did not increase their knowledge much, possibly due to a less intensive implementation of the program. Secondly, we analyze the bias that arises because the set of schools that participate in financial literacy programs is not random. Such selection bias is estimated as the pre-program performance in financial PISA of students in applicant schools relative to a nationally representative sample of schools. We then study if estimators that condition on school and parental characteristics mitigate selection bias. |
| Keywords: | financial education, impact evaluation, selection bias |
| JEL: | D14 I22 |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8902&r=edu |
| By: | Díez-Amigo, Sandro |
| Abstract: | First year students at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, one of the leading Chilean universities, are randomly assigned to their first semester college class groups. This paper takes advantage of this natural experiment in order to robustly estimate the impact of peer characteristics on undergraduate academic performance. The research hypothesis is that being assigned as a freshman to a group with more or less students from a same school, or from a given socioeconomic background, may result in very different patterns of adaptation, potentially impacting academic performance. This paper finds evidence which suggests that, contrary to the results found in most of the existing literature, the average college admission score of first semester classmates not only has no positive impact on the academic performance of undergraduate students, but may actually be negatively affecting their grades. Also, although there are some differences across degrees and secondary school types, in general undergraduate students are more likely to be dismissed, and have lower grades, when they share their first semester college class with a secondary schoolmate. Moreover, students assigned to first semester college classrooms with a higher concentration of classmates who attended the same secondary school(s) generally have significantly lower grades, and are less likely to graduate. Finally, students sharing their first semester college classroom with students from public or subsidized secondary schools are more likely to be dismissed due to poor academic performance. The fact that these peer effects are persistent in time points to the existence of a path dependence pattern, suggesting that this initial period in college is key for student adaptation. These findings have important implications for the design of policies intended to improve the adaptation of freshman college students and the access to higher education, suggesting that students would benefit from targeted first semester college class group assignment policies, as well as from additional transitional aid tailored to their profiles. |
| Keywords: | Peer Effects; Higher Education; Education Policy; Economic Development |
| JEL: | I2 J15 O15 |
| Date: | 2014–05–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:62913&r=edu |
| By: | Mirjam Strupler Leiser (Centre for Research in Economics of Education, University of Bern); Stefan C. Wolter (Centre for Research in Economics of Education, University of Bern) |
| Abstract: | In periods of student booms in tertiary education, the selection of students entering universities gains importance. Consequently, assessing the suitability of different selection methods is crucial for a fair selection process. This paper analyzes whether study success before and after the introduction of an aptitude test is a reasonable measure for the performance of such a test. Employing data from Swiss medical schools, we exploit the implementation of an aptitude test in 1998. The dropout rate in medical schools decreased significantly after the introduction of the test. However, utilizing the performance of transfer students from medical schools – students leaving medical sciences for another subject area – we demonstrate that this reduction in student dropout was not solely a result of better student quality but also of reduced standards in those medical schools. Applying a difference-in-differences strategy, we provide evidence for the endogeneity of dropout rates in medical sciences. |
| Keywords: | aptitude test, university dropout, tertiary education, difference-in-differences |
| JEL: | I23 I28 |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iso:educat:0108&r=edu |
| By: | Fumitoshi Mizutani (Graduate School of Business Administration, Kobe University); Noriyoshi Nakayama (Graduate School of Economics, Nagoya City University); Tomoyasu Tanaka (Faculty of Business Administration, Kinki University) |
| Abstract: | The main purpose of this study is to find the factors involved in determining private university tuition level. Furthermore, we test whether or not university tuition of prestigious (higher standard deviation score) private universities is lower than that of less prestigious private universities. Japanese researchers have drawn conflicting conclusions about this issue. We obtain the following results. First, important factors affecting tuition are (i) the size of university (i.e. the number of attending students), (ii) the quality of the university (i.e. standard deviation scores), (iii) urban and competition factors (i.e. the inverse of HHI), and (iv) subsidies to private universities. Second, empirical results show that university tuition is higher at very prestigious universities, a tendency similar to that in the US. Third, bigger university size and greater availability of subsidies tend to reduce the tuition level. |
| Keywords: | Determinants of tuition, Universities, Quality of education, Competition |
| JEL: | I21 I22 I23 |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kbb:dpaper:2015-08&r=edu |
| By: | Nicolas Grau; Daniel Hojman; Alejandra Mizala |
| Abstract: | In this paper we analyze the effect of school entry and exit in the Chilean market- oriented educational system. During the period 1994-2012, nearly 2,150 schools closed (more than 2,800 if pre-K and kindergarten centers are included), around one-fifth of the current stock of schools. At the same time 3,770 new schools entered the school system, mostly private-voucher schools. Given this significant school turnover we estimate the potential â€productivity gains†associated to market’s creative destruction dynamics by studying its impact on students’ standardized achievement tests. We find that, at the municipality level, school turnover predicts changes in school performance -after control- ling for students’ socioeconomic status- only for low population municipalities, while it has no effect for high population municipalities. Moreover, we find a negative impact on school performance if turnover is associated with a significant school replacement. Finally, we estimate the potential educational costs of this dynamics, trying to identify the causal effect of school closure on grade repetition and high-school dropout rates. Using a large panel of individual student data that contains academic achievement and socio-demographic characteristics, we identify a causal effect of school closures on grade retention and school dropouts. School exit is associated with a 60 per cent increase in the probability of grade repetition in 5th grade and a 79 per cent increase in the probability of school dropout in tenth grade. |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:udc:wpaper:wp396&r=edu |
| By: | Martina Menon; Federico Perali |
| Abstract: | We study the university choice of prospective students using a unique dataset enriched with "lab-in-the-field" experiments aimed at eliciting risk and time preferences of students. Controlling for assortative mating, we find that father's rather than mother's education is significantly associated with the likelihood of children's enrolment in university indicating that the intergenerational transmission of human capital is mainly channelled through the father's education. Family possessions, as measured by homeownership, are positively associated with the likelihood of children’s enrolment, while parental income has a small impact on this choice. This result suggests that in our sample there is equal access to university irrespective of short-time family liquidity constraints. We also find that economic preference parameters, such as risk and time preferences, account for a small part of the prospect of enrolling in university, while subjective expectations, effort and school ability of children are strong predictors of future schooling investment. In addition, through a counterfactual analysis, sports activities among children appear to increase the university enrolment rate. Our findings provide helpful directions for decision-makers to attract talented students to tertiary education. |
| Keywords: | University enrolment, intentions data, family background, subjective expectations, cognitive and non-cognitive abilities, effort, counterfactual analysis. |
| JEL: | I21 I28 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cca:wchild:33&r=edu |
| By: | Lynne Pepall; Dan Richards |
| Abstract: | Recent innovations in digital learning and web-based technologies have enabled scalability in educational services that has previously not been feasible presenting a potential disruption in traditional higher education markets. This paper explores the impact of these innovations in a vertically differentiated higher educational market with both selective and nonselective institutions. Selective institutions are characterized by peer effects and a revenue model that assures quality. Nonselective institutions have open admissions and are tuition driven. Students differ in their ability to benefit from educational services. We describe how selective and non-selective institutions compete for students through tuition and admission criteria and how free non-credentialed educational services such as MOOCs affect the market equilibrium. Our model also helps explain why selective institutions are the main proprietors of MOOCs. |
| Keywords: | Higher Education, Vertical Differentiation, Network Effects |
| JEL: | D43 I23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tuf:tuftec:0811&r=edu |
| By: | Andrew T. Hill (Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia); Carlos J. Asarta (Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship, University of Delaware) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we examine the performance of male and female students participating in a unique and successful high school program called Keys to Financial Success. Using the Financial Fitness for Life High School Test (FFFL-HS) results from 965 students enrolled in a one-semester Keys course, we discover no gender gap at the overall pretest level. We find, however, a significant gender gap favoring female students at the overall posttest level, a result that is also consistent with the overall performance of students participating in the norming of the FFFL-HS Test. We conclude by suggesting that the use of a carefully designed personal finance course, taught by instructors trained on the specific curriculum covered in that course, is essential for providing equal learning opportunities to both male and female high school students. |
| Keywords: | gender, gender gap, education, assessment, personal finance, K-12 |
| JEL: | A21 G00 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dlw:wpaper:15-01&r=edu |
| By: | Di Pietro, Giorgio (University of Westminster) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effect of the L'Aquila earthquake on the academic performance of the students of the local university. Following this traumatic event, not only are students likely to have developed an acute stress disorder, but they have also experienced a significant disruption in their learning environment because of the closure of several university buildings and the relocation to temporary premises. We compare changes in educational outcomes among students of the University of L'Aquila before and after the earthquake with changes in educational outcomes during the same time period among students enrolled at other Central Italian universities. The empirical results suggest that while this natural disaster has reduced students' probability of graduating on time by 6.6 percentage points, it has had no statistically significant effect on university drop-out in the very short-term. Additionally, the on-time graduation result masks differential gender effects. |
| Keywords: | L'Aquila earthquake, academic performance, difference-in-differences |
| JEL: | Q54 I23 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8867&r=edu |
| By: | Chevalier, Arnaud (IZA); Jia, Xiaoxuan (Anglia Ruskin University) |
| Abstract: | Do applicants to higher education rely on expert judgement about the quality of the course when applying? Using application data across UK universities over a period of 8 years, we investigate how league tables affect prospective students' application decisions. We use subject specific ranking rather than the commonly used institution level ranking. We find that a one standard deviation change in the subject-level ranking score of an institution is associated with on average a 4.3% increase in application numbers per faculty. This effect is particularly pronounced among faculties with the best scores, and overseas applicants. Limits to the number of applications have increased the preponderance of league tables. |
| Keywords: | higher education applications, league tables |
| JEL: | I23 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8869&r=edu |
| By: | Díez-Amigo, Sandro |
| Abstract: | According to the existing evidence some higher education admission tests may be screening out students who, despite a relative lack of specific knowledge, possess as much intellectual ability as their peers. If this is the case, students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds are likely to be disproportionately affected, since they generally receive a primary and secondary education of worse quality than their better-off peers, often resulting in significant knowledge gaps. Also, although in some cases these formative shortcomings might be too large to be feasibly addressed at the time of enrollment in higher education, it is plausible to think that in some cases they may perhaps be relatively easy to remedy. In view of all this, in this paper I present a diagnostics experiment, aimed at helping to better understand this issue. In particular, I custom-designed a multiple-choice test, intended to measure an individual's mathematical ability, while minimizing the reliance on previously acquired knowledge. Also, I put together a two page "cheat sheet", which outlined all the necessary concepts to successfully complete the exam, without providing any explicit answers. This test was subsequently used to evaluate the candidates applying for admission into a special access program at one of the leading Chilean universities. A staged randomized control trial was used to measure the difference in academic performance (i.e. number of correctly answered questions) across the three parts of the exam between students who received a "cheat sheet" after the first or second parts of the test, respectively. As expected, "cheat sheets" improved the average performance of candidates on the exam, but their impact varied considerably across individuals. Most importantly, "cheat sheets" proved significantly more beneficial (in terms of improved test performance) to those students who were more likely to have had a secondary education of lower quality. This result has important implications for educational policies in Chile and elsewhere, suggesting that a transition to ability-focused admission tests would facilitate the access to higher education for talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds. |
| Keywords: | Equality of Opportunity; Higher Education; Education Policy; Policy Evaluation; Economic Development |
| JEL: | A12 I2 J15 O15 |
| Date: | 2014–06–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:62914&r=edu |
| By: | Duncan McVicar (Queen's University Management School, Queen's University, Belfast); Cain Polidano (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne) |
| Abstract: | Outside of apprenticeships, allocations of public funds across vocational education and training (VET) courses are often made on the basis of government forecasts, with limited competition between (mostly public) colleges. This centralised model is often blamed for stifling responsiveness to skill demands and training quality. However, little is known about whether moving to alternative funding models improves outcomes. In this study, we exploit a natural experiment and population data to estimate the effects from the introduction of a broad-based voucher in VET in Australia. We show the voucher is associated with large increases in private college enrolments, improved match between course choice and employer demand, and higher student achievement, including in incumbent public colleges. Unlike studies in the school voucher literature, we find widespread benefits with no adverse impact on equity. |
| Keywords: | VET, vocational education, CTE, career and technical education, vouchers, competition, course choice, achievement |
| JEL: | H44 H75 I21 I22 I28 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2015n06&r=edu |
| By: | Arnaud Chevalier (IZA); Xiaoxuan Jia (Anglia Ruskin University and Royal Holloway, University of London) |
| Abstract: | Do applicants to higher education rely on expert judgement about the quality of the course when applying? Using application data across UK universities over a period of 8 years, we investigate how league tables affect prospective students’ application decisions. We use subject specific ranking rather than the commonly used institution level ranking. We find that a one standard deviation change in the subject-level ranking score of an institution is associated with on average a 4.3% increase in application numbers per faculty. This effect is particularly pronounced among faculties with the best scores, and overseas applicants. Limits to the number of applications have increased the preponderance of league tables. |
| Keywords: | Higher education applications, league tables |
| JEL: | I23 |
| Date: | 2015–03–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucd:wpaper:201503&r=edu |
| By: | Tumen, Semih |
| Abstract: | Informal jobs offer skill acquisition opportunities that may facilitate a future switch to formal employment for young workers. In this sense, informal training on the job may be a viable alternative to formal schooling in an economy with a large and diverse informal sector. In this paper, I investigate if these considerations are relevant for the schooling decisions of young individuals using panel data on 17 Latin American countries as well as micro-level data for Turkey. Specifically, I ask if the prevalence of informal jobs distort schooling attainment. I concentrate on three measures of schooling outcomes: (1) secondary education enrollment rate, (2) out-of-school rate for lower secondary school, and (3) tertiary education graduation rate. I find that the secondary education enrollment rate is negatively correlated with the size of the informal economy, while the out-of-school rate is positively correlated. This means that informal training on the job may be crowding out school education in developing countries. The tertiary education graduation rate, however, is positively correlated with the size of informal sector, which implies that a large informal economy induces college attendance for those who are more likely to succeed. Policies that can potentially affect the size of the informal sector should take into consideration these second-round effects on aggregate schooling outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Informal economy; skill acquisition; schooling outcomes; Latin America; Turkey. |
| JEL: | E26 I21 J24 O17 |
| Date: | 2015–03–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:62909&r=edu |
| By: | Mahy, Benoît (University of Mons); Rycx, Francois (Free University of Brussels); Vermeylen, Guillaume (University of Mons) |
| Abstract: | The authors provide first evidence on whether the direct relationship between educational mismatch and firm productivity varies across working environments. Using detailed Belgian linked employer-employee panel data for 1999-2010, they find the existence of a significant, positive (negative) impact of over- (under-)education on firm productivity. Moreover, their results show that the effect of over-education on productivity is stronger among firms: (i) with a higher share of high-skilled jobs, (ii) belonging to high-tech/knowledge-intensive industries, and (iii) evolving in a more uncertain economic environment. Interaction effects between under-education and working environments are less clear-cut. However, economic uncertainty is systematically found to accentuate the detrimental effect of under-education on productivity. |
| Keywords: | educational mismatch, productivity, linked employer-employee panel data, working environments |
| JEL: | J21 J24 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8885&r=edu |
| By: | Ruhose, Jens (Ifo Institute for Economic Research); Schwerdt, Guido (University of Konstanz) |
| Abstract: | We study whether early tracking of students based on ability increases migrant-native achievement gaps. To eliminate confounding impacts of unobserved country traits, we employ a differences-in-differences strategy that exploits international variation in the age of tracking as well as student achievement before and after potential tracking. Based on pooled data from 12 large-scale international student assessments, we show that cross-sectional estimates are likely to be downward-biased. Our differences-in-differences estimates suggest that early tracking does not significantly affect overall migrant-native achievement gaps, but we find evidence for a detrimental impact for less integrated migrants. |
| Keywords: | immigration, educational inequalities, educational tracking, differences-in-differences |
| JEL: | I21 J15 I28 |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8903&r=edu |
| By: | Schurer, Stefanie (University of Sydney); Kassenboehmer, Sonja C. (Monash University); Leung, Felix (University of Sydney) |
| Abstract: | We investigate whether universities select by, or also shape, their students' personality, as implied by the human capital investment model. Using a nationally representative sample of Australian adolescents followed over eight years, we find that youth conscientiousness, internal locus of control, and low extraversion strongly predict the probability of obtaining a university degree. However, university education does not shape those personality traits associated with a strong work ethic and intellect. Yet, it offsets a general decline in extraversion as individuals age and boosts the development of agreeableness for men from disadvantaged backgrounds. Our findings contribute to the discussion whether universities should teach their students broader skills. |
| Keywords: | university education, Big-Five personality traits, psychic cost, inequality, change in personality |
| JEL: | I12 J24 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8873&r=edu |
| By: | Cornelia Lawson (Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti De Martiis, University of Turin, Italy; BRICK, Collegio Carlo Alberto, Moncalieri (Turin), Italy; School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Nottingham, UK); Aldo Geuna (Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti De Martiis, University of Turin, Italy; BRICK, Collegio Carlo Alberto, Moncalieri (Turin), Italy); Rodrigo Kataishi (Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti De Martiis, University of Turin, Italy; BRICK, Collegio Carlo Alberto, Moncalieri (Turin), Italy); Manuel Toselli (Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti De Martiis, University of Turin, Italy; BRICK, Collegio Carlo Alberto, Moncalieri (Turin), Italy); Ana Fernández-Zubieta (Institute for Advanced Social Studies - Spanish Council for Scientific Research, Spain) |
| Abstract: | This chapter analyses the mobility of academic biomedical researchers in the US and the UK. Both countries are at the forefront of research in biomedicine, and able to attract promising researchers from other countries as well as fostering mobility between the US and the UK. Using a database of 292 UK based academics and 327 US based academics covering the period 1956 to 2012, the descriptive analysis shows a high level of international mobility at education level (BA, PhD and Postdoc) with small, but significant transatlantic exchanges, and shows high levels of cross-border mobility amongst senior academics based in the UK. There is a high level of career mobility with 50% of the sample having changed jobs at least once, and 40% having moved within academia. There is no significant difference in job-job mobility between the two countries although there are some interesting institutional differences concerning international and cross-sector mobility. The empirical analysis focuses on the importance of postdoctoral training in the US and the UK. The results indicate that working in the US is correlated to higher researcher performance in terms of both publication numbers and impact/quality adjusted publications (in top journals and average impact). The publications of researchers with postdoctoral experience are generally of a higher average impact. This applies especially to postdoc experience at top-quality US institutions although a postdoc at a UK top institution is associated with higher top journal publications and higher average impact. In relation to the UK sample, we find that a US postdoc (especially in a top institution) is correlated to subsequent performance in the UK academic market. Finally, we see that US postdocs that stay in the US publish more and publications with higher impact/quality than those that move to the UK; however, these effects are stronger for those who studied for their PhD degree outside the US. Therefore, we find some evidence that the US is able to retain high performing incoming PhD graduates. |
| Keywords: | International mobility; academic career; academic labor market; research productivity; postdoc; biomedical |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sru:ssewps:2015-09&r=edu |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | <ul> <li> Among 25-34 year-olds, more women than men hold a tertiary qualification in 33 of the 36 countries for which data are comparable. </li> <li> Gender differences still exist in certain fields, with more men studying science, computing and engineering, and with women dominating education and health and welfare.</li> <li> Despite their higher educational attainment, young women still have lower employment rates than men, although the gender gap is much narrower for tertiary educated young women than for those with lower educational attainment.</li> <li> Women with tertiary education earn about three-quarters of their male peers’ earnings. <li> Some of this may be due to the under-representation of women at the highest levels of tertiary education, as well as in some fields of education, which are highly rewarded by the labour market.</li></ul> |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduaaf:30-en&r=edu |
| By: | Marie, Olivier (Maastricht University); Zölitz, Ulf (IZA) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates how legal cannabis access affects student performance. Identification comes from an exceptional policy introduced in the city of Maastricht which discriminated legal access based on individuals' nationality. We apply a difference-in-difference approach using administrative panel data on over 54,000 course grades of local students enrolled at Maastricht University before and during the partial cannabis prohibition. We find that the academic performance of students who are no longer legally permitted to buy cannabis increases substantially. Grade improvements are driven by younger students, and the effects are stronger for women and low performers. In line with how THC consumption affects cognitive functioning, we find that performance gains are larger for courses that require more numerical/mathematical skills. We investigate the underlying channels using students' course evaluations and present suggestive evidence that performance gains are driven by improved understanding of material rather than changes in students' study effort. |
| Keywords: | marijuana, legalization, student performance |
| JEL: | I18 I20 K42 |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8900&r=edu |
| By: | Raj Chande; Michael Luca; Michael Sanders; Zhi Soon; Oana Borcan; Netta Barak-Corren; Elizabeth Linos; Elspeth Kirkman |
| Abstract: | Roughly 20% of adults in the OECD lack basic numeracy and literacy skills. In the UK, many colleges offer fully government subsidized adult education programs to improve these skills. Constructing a unique dataset consisting of weekly attendance records for 1179 students, we find that approximately 25% of learners stop attending these programs in the first ten weeks and that average attendance rates deteriorate by 20% in that time. We implement a large-scale field experiment in which we send encouraging text messages to students. Our initial results show that these simple text messages reduce the proportion of students that stop attending by 36% and lead to a 7% increase in average attendance relative to the control group. The effects on attendance rates persist through the three weeks of available data following the initial intervention. |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bri:cmpowp:13/335&r=edu |
| By: | Black, Sandra E. (University of Texas at Austin); Devereux, Paul J. (University College Dublin); Lundborg, Petter (Lund University); Majlesi, Kaveh (Lund University) |
| Abstract: | We investigate whether acquiring more education when young has long-term effects on risk-taking behavior in financial markets and whether the effects spill over to spouses and children. There is substantial evidence that more educated people are more likely to invest in the stock market. However, little is known about whether this is a causal effect of education or whether it arises from the correlation of education with unobserved characteristics. Using exogenous variation in education arising from a Swedish compulsory schooling reform in the 1950s and 1960s, and the wealth holdings of the population of Sweden in 2000, we estimate the effect of education on stock market participation and risky asset holdings. We find that an extra year of education increases stock market participation by about 2% for men but there is no evidence of any positive effect for women. More education also leads men to hold a greater proportion of their financial assets in stocks and other risky financial assets. We find no evidence of spillover effects from male schooling to the financial decisions of spouses or children. |
| Keywords: | education, financial market, risk-taking |
| JEL: | G11 |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8905&r=edu |
| By: | Díez-Amigo, Sandro |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a higher education special access program for students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, custom-designed by the author for one of the leading Chilean universities, and implemented as a pilot during the 2013 and 2014 admission periods. A non-experimental comparison of the academic performance of special and ordinary admission students after enrollment finds evidence that, consistent with Arcidiacono et al (2011), although on average special admission students have comparable final grades than their ordinary admission peers, they tend to perform comparatively worse in "hard" subjects (i.e. those with a strong mathematical component). However, although special admission students seem more likely to decide to withdraw earlier, no significant differences in voluntary withdrawal or dismissal rates are observed between the latter and their ordinary admission peers. Moreover, an initial gap in GPA between special and ordinary admission students is closed by the end of the third semester of enrollment. All this suggests that, with some nuances, students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds can successfully catch up with their peers when provided with adequate support, and that special admission programs can therefore be an effective tool to improve the access to higher education. Nonetheless, the fact that the program was undersubscribed suggests that, apart from potential information diffusion problems, the minimum requirements set forth for special admission may have been too stringent, and/or that the demand for special admission among the targeted student population may not be as large as predicted. |
| Keywords: | Equality of Opportunity; Higher Education; Education Policy; Information Transmission; Economic Development |
| JEL: | D83 I2 J15 O15 |
| Date: | 2014–07–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:62915&r=edu |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | <ul> <li> Teachers report participating in more non-school than school embedded professional development (i.e. professional development that is grounded in teachers daily professional practices). </li> <li> Participation in non-school and school embedded professional development varies greatly between countries. </li> <li> Teachers report more positive impacts on their classroom teaching from school than non-school embedded professional development. </li></ul> |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduaah:10-en&r=edu |
| By: | Alcalde, José; Romero-Medina, Antonio |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an `escape route' from the efficiency-equity trade-off in the School Choice problem. We achieve our objective by presenting a weak notion of fairness, called τ-fairness, which is always satisfied by some allocation. Then, we propose the adoption of the Student Optimal Compensating Exchange mechanism, a procedure that assigns a τ-fair allocation to each problem. We further identify a condition on students' preferences guaranteeing incentive compatibility of this mechanism. |
| Keywords: | School Choice Problem, Fair Matching, Top Dominance Condition, Strategy-Proofness |
| JEL: | C78 D63 I28 |
| Date: | 2015–03–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:62831&r=edu |
| By: | Chirodea, Florentina |
| Abstract: | Innovation, another important component of this type of economy, constitutes, in turn, an indicator of global competitiveness. In the national and supranational processes and strategies to implementation of regional knowledge–based economy, a leading role is played by universities, turned into spaces of the integrated approach of the triangle education–research–innovation. The study aims to analyze the involvement of higher education institutions in the North–West Development Region in the transformation of the local economy. The data collected will allow us to highlight the mechanisms through which partnerships involving academic communities fail to transform knowledge from publications, patents and prototypes in technologies and “services economically and socially assimilated”. |
| Keywords: | universities role, knowledge–based economy, North–West Development Region |
| JEL: | I2 I23 I31 O3 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:62971&r=edu |
| By: | Sjoquist, David L. (Georgia State University); Winters, John V. (Oklahoma State University) |
| Abstract: | There is growing concern in the U.S. that the nation is producing too few college graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and there is a desire to understand how various policies affect college major decisions. This paper first uses student administrative records from the University System of Georgia to examine whether Georgia's HOPE Scholarship has affected students' college major decisions, with a focus on STEM majors. We find consistent evidence that HOPE reduced the likelihood that a USG student earned a degree with a major in a STEM field. The paper explores alternative reasons why HOPE reduced the likelihood of earning a STEM major. |
| Keywords: | merit aid, HOPE Scholarship, college major, STEM |
| JEL: | I23 J24 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8875&r=edu |
| By: | Dupor, William D. (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis); Mehkari, M. Saif (University of Richmond) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the impact of the education funding component of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the Recovery Act) on public school districts. We use cross- Sectional differences in district-level Recovery Act funding to investigate the program's impact on staffing, expenditures and debt accumulation. To achieve identification, we use exogenous variation across districts in the allocations of Recovery Act funds for special needs students. We estimate that $1 million of grants to a district had the following effects: expenditures increased by $570 thousand, district employment saw little or no change, and an additional $370 thousand in debt was accumulated. Moreover, 70% of the increase in expenditures came in the form of capital outlays. Next, we build a dynamic, decision theoretic model of a school district's budgeting problem, which we calibrate to district level expenditure and staffing data. The model can qualitatively match the employment and capital expenditure responses from our regressions. We also use the model to conduct policy experiments. |
| Date: | 2015–03–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2015-004&r=edu |
| By: | Arai, Yoichi (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies Japan); Ichimura, Hidehiko (University of Tokyo); Kawaguchi, Daiji (RIETI, Hitotsubashi University) |
| Abstract: | Are all Japanese youth ready for the structural reforms proposed as a supply-side policy of Abenomics? To answer this question, we assess how well Japanese youth have coped with the labor market's long-term structural changes, induced primarily by deepening interdependence with emerging economies and rapid technological progress over the last three decades. We examine the role of educational upgrading on the labor-market outcomes of youth between the ages of 25 and 29, using six waves of micro data from the Employment Status Survey spanning from 1982 to 2007. The analysis demonstrates that the demand growth for skilled labor relative to unskilled labor has been met by the educational upgrading of youth through the expansion of tertiary education, including education in vocational schools. Youth left behind the trend of educational upgrading, however, have suffered significantly from decreasing employment opportunities and deteriorating working conditions. |
| Keywords: | tertiary education, youth employment, Japan |
| JEL: | I23 J21 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8870&r=edu |
| By: | Hahn, Youjin (Monash University); Islam, Asadul (Monash University); Patacchini, Eleonora (Cornell University); Zenou, Yves (Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | We study the causal impact of network centrality on educational outcomes using field experiments in primary schools in Bangladesh. After obtaining information on friendship networks, we randomly allocate students into groups and give them individual and group assignments. We find that groups that perform best are those whose members have high Katz-Bonacich and key-player centralities. Leaders are mostly responsible for this effect, while bad apples have little influence. Own Katz-Bonacich centrality is associated with better individual performance only if it is above the average centrality of the group. Further experiments reveal that leadership, as measured by network centrality, mainly captures non-cognitive skills, especially patience and competitiveness. |
| Keywords: | social networks, centrality measures, leaders, soft skills |
| JEL: | A14 C93 D01 I20 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8872&r=edu |
| By: | Marchetta, Francesca (CERDI, University of Auvergne); Sahn, David E. (Cornell University) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the role of education and family background on age at marriage, age at first birth, and age at labor market entry for young women in Senegal using a rich individual-level survey conducted in 2003. We use a multiple-equation framework that allows us to account for the endogeneity that arises from the simultaneity of the decisions that we model. Differences in the characteristics of the dependent variable informed the choice of the models that are used to estimate each equation: an ordered probit model is used to analyze the number of completed years of schooling, and a generalized hazard model for the other three decisions. Results show the importance of parental education, especially the father, on years of schooling. We find that each additional year of schooling of a woman with average characteristics delays marriage and the age at first birth by 0.5 and 0.4 years, respectively. Parents' education also reduces the hazard of marriage and age of first birth, while the death of parents has just the opposite effect, with the magnitudes of effects being larger for mothers. Delaying marriage also leads to an increase in the hazard of entering the formal labor market, as does the education and death of the women's parents. |
| Keywords: | multiple equations, duration models, unobserved heterogeneity, Senegal |
| JEL: | J12 J13 C3 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8876&r=edu |
| By: | Chiara Falco |
| Abstract: | This study examines how the educational level attained by individuals affects their migration propensity. Using an original 2006 Ecuadorian survey, which gathered information on household members who were not in the country at the time of the survey (i.e., emigrants), we implement a Regression Discontinuity Design and control for potential endogeneity of the education explanatory variable based on the 1977 educational reform in Ecuador. Our results provide evidence of positive self-selection among migrants. Taking into account the 27{57 age sample, an individual with a lower secondary level of education increases the migration propensity by 31.30%; this propensity is even higher (34.47%) when the sample of migrants is restricted to the urban areas. Considering both country-specific characteristics and gender differentials, our results do not indicate a significant impact of an increase in human capital on the male migration propensity. However, there is a positive and significant effect on the female migration propensity, in particular, for women from larger cities. The results are consistent with theoretical models related to positive self-selection in response to labor market distortions, such as the disparities between genders. |
| Keywords: | International Migration, Education, Gender |
| JEL: | F22 J16 O15 I25 |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mib:wpaper:297&r=edu |
| By: | Simon Burgess |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to understanding the ‘London Effect’, focussing on the role of the ethnic composition. The aim is to understand the statistical contribution to the London premium of ethnic composition. I also analyse data on the performance of recent immigrants. The results confirm that pupil progress on standard measures is significantly higher than the rest of England, 9.8% of a standard deviation. This is entirely accounted for by ethnic composition. The last decade of results shows the same result. I show that for other measures of attainment, the London premium is halved but remains significant. |
| JEL: | I20 I24 |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bri:cmpowp:13/333&r=edu |
| By: | d'Hombres, Beatrice (European Commission); Nunziata, Luca (University of Padova) |
| Abstract: | We use European Social Survey and Labour Force Survey data to estimate the causal effect of education on European natives' opinion toward immigration exploiting reforms in compulsory education in Europe in the 1960s through the 1990s. Our findings show that higher education leads to a more positive attitude toward immigrants. We also investigate the mechanisms behind the effect of education on attitudes by evaluating both economic and non-economic channels. We find that higher education places individuals in occupations that are less exposed to the negative externalities of migration, although not in sectors/occupations where the share of migrants is necessarily smaller, suggesting that migrants and low-educated natives are complementary rather than substitutes in the labour market. In addition, education alters values and the cognitive assessment of the role of immigration in host societies, with a positive effect on tolerance of diversity and a positive effect on the assessment of immigration's role in host countries. Our findings suggest that education as a policy instrument can increase social cohesion in societies that are subject to large immigration flows. |
| Keywords: | immigration, attitude towards immigrants, perception, education, compulsory education reforms |
| JEL: | I20 J61 J15 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8880&r=edu |
| By: | Claudio E. Montenegro; Harry Anthony Patrinos |
| Abstract: | Rates of return to investments in schooling have been estimated since the late 1950s. In the 60-plus year history of such estimates, there have been several attempts to synthesize the empirical results to ascertain patterns. This paper presents comparable estimates, as well as a database, that use the same specification, estimation procedure, and similar data for 139 economies and 819 harmonized household surveys. This effort to compile comparable estimates holds constant the definition of the dependent variable, the set of control variables, the sample definition, and the estimation method for all surveys in the sample. The results of this study show that (1) the returns to schooling are more concentrated around their respective means than previously thought; (2) the basic Mincerian model used is more stable than may have been expected; (3) the returns to schooling are higher for women than for men; (4) returns to schooling and labor market experience are strongly and positively associated; (5) there is a decreasing pattern over time; and (6) the returns to tertiary education are highest. |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:udc:wpaper:wp390&r=edu |
| By: | Elizabeth M. Caucutt; Lance Lochner; Youngmin Park |
| Abstract: | The economic and social mobility of a generation may be largely determined by the time it enters school given early developing and persistent gaps in child achievement by family income and the importance of adolescent skill levels for educational attainment and lifetime earnings. After providing new evidence of important differences in early child investments by family income, we study four leading mechanisms thought to explain these gaps: an intergenerational correlation in ability, a consumption value of investment, information frictions, and credit constraints. In order to better determine which of these mechanisms influence family investments in children, we evaluate the extent to which these mechanisms also explain other important stylized facts related to the marginal returns on investments and the effects of parental income on child investments and skills. |
| JEL: | D1 I24 J24 |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21023&r=edu |
| By: | Mikkola, Minna; Post, Anna |
| Abstract: | School meals, served free for young people at primary and secondary education in Finland and Sweden, imply the welfare state’s effort at being responsible for the wellbeing of young people. This aim is very concretely expressed by the provision of statutory school meals which satisfy about one third of daily nutritional needs, offer a broad food cultural selection of meals with different ingredients and are meant to introduce children to table manners (Finnish National Board of Education, 2008; Lintukangas et al., 2008; Valtion ravitsemusneuvottelukunta, 2008). This ‘proper meal’ (Murcott, 1982) additionally reflects strongly the scientific view on nutrition (Valtion ravitsemusneuvottelukunta, 2008), and thereby connects with European historical challenges to enhance the poor nutrition status of children from families of limited means (Ahonen, 2003; Morgan and Sonnino, 2008; Spigarolo et al., 2010). The welfare state thus enters the sphere of responsibility of the family for their children (Rothstein, 1996), as it eases parental care by removing the cost and effort of meal provision from the family to the public actor. This school meal system thus not only aims to offer collateral support for learning but to promote healthy eating as a condition for public health. Currently, the focus of school catering aims to expand from the individual health to environmental health and even wider to sustainability (Morgan and Sonnino, 2008). This view has been evident in public caterers’ efforts across Finland (Mikkola, 2009a) as well as in individual rectors’ work for joining programs such as the Green Flag, entailing occasionally the provision of organic food as a proxy to sustainability (Mikkola, 2009b). These interests also draw on Union and national level policy support (ICLEI, 2008; Ministry of Environment, 2009) whereby the school meal becomes “a prism” of sustainability interests (Morgan and Sonnino, 2008), promoted by public actors (Mikkola, 2009; Morgan and Sonnino, 2008; Spigarolo et al., 2010). It is highly relevant to explore the impacts of these policies on children through activities such as public catering; ‘does it deliver’ the expected benefits in terms of increasing sustainability orientations by the children? This paper probes into children’s responses to school meals, with emphasis on the potential to learn healthy and sustainable eating practices. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iefi14:199369&r=edu |