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on Education |
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Issue of 2015‒11‒15
twenty papers chosen by João Carlos Correia Leitão Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Oleg V. Poldin (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Tania P. Simoes (University of Campinas (Unicamp).); Marcelo Knobel (University of Campinas (Unicamp).); Maria M. Yudkevich (National Research University Higher School of Economics.) |
| Abstract: | Social interactions with peers during learning have a significant impact on university students’ academic achievement. As social ties are voluntary, an empirical estimation of peer effects is exposed to a potential endogeneity problem. To overcome this issue, we propose to define the peer group of an individual as their predicted friends. The specific features of the learning environment in higher education institutions may affect dimensions along which friendship ties form. To test the presence of peer effects in different educational and cultural contexts, we use data on students studying in two universities located in two different countries, Brazil and Russia. We assume that friendship is affected by homophily in student attributes, such as having the same region of origin, the same gender, and sharing the same study group. In both institutions, we find positive externalities from having high-ability peers. |
| Keywords: | peer effects, academic achievement, social networks |
| JEL: | I21 Z13 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:30edu2015&r=edu |
| By: | Miroslava Federicova |
| Abstract: | Grades are one of the most important factors in the transition between different levels of education. However, conditional on cognitive skills, grades differ substantially between girls and boys. This gender disparity in grade assignments according to cognitive skills may create asymmetrical signals of the probability of admission for girls and boys. This paper examines the role of grades in explaining the gender difference in application rates to selective schools. Using data about transition from primary to selective schools in the Czech Republic, the paper shows that girls apply at significantly higher rates. This difference remains the same after controlling for probability of admission. Test scores collected by an international testing program have no effect on gender differences in applications that are, however, explained by grades. This finding is consistent with grades acting as a signal that provides imperfect and incomplete information about the probability of being admitted, and consequently causes the gender difference in application. |
| Keywords: | grading; school choice; admissions; gender gap; |
| JEL: | I21 I24 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cer:papers:wp550&r=edu |
| By: | Barrientos Oradini, Nicolas; Castillo Ramos, Sebastián |
| Abstract: | The Government proposal about free in superior education it has produce a socio-economic gap in potential beneficiaries, impose juridical an certification requirement to institution. This fact can produce that a lot student that was a potential beneficiaries not have access to a free education, this implies that some vulnerable student can't entry in a superior education (university, professional or technical institution) and some other may find an aid option to finance their studies. This fact produces the motivation to quantify the impact in the superior education scenario and the consequence that could be, in special the amount of student that not have access to a free education. |
| Keywords: | Higher Education, Public Financing Policy for Higher Education, Public Policy |
| JEL: | A23 I22 I23 I24 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:67104&r=edu |
| By: | Klyachko, Tatiana (Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA)); Beliakov, Sergei (Government of the Russian Federation - Russian Ministry of General and Professional Education) |
| Abstract: | The paper focuses on the development of methodology fro assessment of the contribution of education in the socio-economic development of the constituents of the Russian Federation. Author proposed two approaches to the assesstemt of the contribution of education to the socio-economic development of Russian regions: on the basis of salary bonus for the level of education and on the basis of salary differentiated according to employers age. |
| Keywords: | Russian economy, education, educational reform |
| JEL: | I21 I22 I23 I24 I25 I28 |
| Date: | 2015–09–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rnp:ppaper:dok12&r=edu |
| By: | Shah, Manisha (University of California, Los Angeles); Millett Steinberg, Bryce (Harvard University) |
| Abstract: | We examine the effect of India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), one of the largest workfare programs in the world, on human capital investment. Since NREGS increases labor demand, it could increase the opportunity cost of schooling, lowering human capital investment even as incomes increase. We exploit the staged rollout of the program across districts for causal identification. Using a household survey of test scores and schooling outcomes for approximately 2.5 million rural children in India, we show that each year of exposure to NREGS decreases school enrollment by 2 percentage points and math scores by 2% of a standard deviation amongst children aged 13-16. In addition, while the impacts of NREGS on human capital are similar for boys and girls, adolescent boys are primarily substituting into market work when they leave school while adolescent girls are substituting into unpaid domestic work. We find mixed results for younger children. We conclude that anti-poverty programs which raise wages could have the unintended effect of lowering human capital investment. |
| Keywords: | human capital investment, workfare programs |
| JEL: | O12 I2 I38 J1 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9486&r=edu |
| By: | Yeo, Jian Z. (University of Auckland); Maani, Sholeh A. (University of Auckland) |
| Abstract: | Mismatch of educational skills in the labor market is an emerging topic in the field of labor economics, partly due to its link to labor productivity. This is the first application of this question to New Zealand data. In this paper we examine the incidence of educational mismatch and its earnings effects. Using micro data drawn from the Household Labour Force Survey and the New Zealand Income Supplement (HLFS/NZIS) for the years 2004 to 2007, we find a noteworthy incidence of both over‐ and under-education. We also find that earnings returns to required years of education exceed the returns with over‐and under‐education, with a greater earnings penalty associated with under‐education. We test hypotheses on three alternative models of educational mismatch and find support for the assignment model of job allocations. We further examine results stratified by age group and for the native‐born and immigrants, and find that our results are robust across these groups. |
| Keywords: | over‐education, under‐education, educational mismatch, wage effects, productivity |
| JEL: | J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9475&r=edu |
| By: | Fairlie, Robert |
| Abstract: | A substantial amount of money is spent on technology by schools, families and policymakers with the hope of improving educational outcomes. This chapter explores the theoretical and empirical literature on the impacts of technology on educational outcomes. The literature focuses on two primary contexts in which technology may be used for educational purposes: i) classroom use in schools, and ii) home use by students. Theoretically, ICT investment and CAI use by schools and the use of computers at home have ambiguous implications for educational achievement: expenditures devoted to technology necessarily offset inputs that may be more or less efficient, and time allocated to using technology may displace traditional classroom instruction and educational activities at home. However, much of the evidence in the schooling literature is based on interventions that provide supplemental funding for technology or additional class time, and thus favor finding positive effects. Nonetheless, studies of ICT and CAI in schools produce mixed evidence with a pattern of null results. Notable exceptions to this pattern occur in studies of developing countries and CAI interventions that target math rather than language. In the context of home use, early studies based on multivariate and instrumental variables approaches tend to find large positive (and in a few cases negative) effects while recent studies based on randomized control experiments tend to find small or null effects. Early research focused on developed countries while more recently several experiments have been conducted in developing countries. |
| Keywords: | Education, Social and Behavioral Sciences, technology, education, computers, Internet, software, random experiment, field experiment |
| Date: | 2015–11–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:ucscec:qt28k4f4v1&r=edu |
| By: | Fairlie, Robert |
| Abstract: | Boys are doing worse in school than are girls, which has been dubbed "the Boy Crisis." An analysis of the latest data on educational outcomes among boys and girls reveals extensive disparities in grades, reading and writing test scores, and other measurable educational outcomes, and these disparities exist across family resources and race. Focusing on disadvantaged schoolchildren, I then examine whether time investments made by boys and girls related to computer use contribute to the gender gap in academic achievement. Data from several sources indicate that boys are less likely to use computers for schoolwork and are more likely to use computers for playing games, but are less likely to use computers for social networking and email than are girls. Using data from a large field experiment randomly providing free personal computers to schoolchildren for home use, I also test whether these differential patterns of computer use displace homework time and ultimately translate into worse educational outcomes among boys. No evidence is found indicating that personal computers crowd out homework time and effort for disadvantaged boys relative to girls. Home computers also do not have negative effects on educational outcomes such as grades, test scores, courses completed, and tardies for disadvantaged boys relative to girls. |
| Keywords: | Education, Social and Behavioral Sciences, technology, computers, ICT, education, gender, field experiment |
| Date: | 2015–11–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:ucscec:qt4n54q8xh&r=edu |
| By: | Philippine Institute for Development Studies; Commission on Higher Education |
| Abstract: | They have been called the MP3s of higher education, surpassing and improving on the technology of compact discs that is online learning, and the outdated cassette tape that is the traditional classroom. They are called Massive Open Online Courses and their advent and rising popularity have had a profound impact on the sphere of education. Whether they are seen as an opportunity or a potentially disruptive threat to current pedagogies, their promise of offering low-cost quality education to all has certainly captured the imagination of everyone, especially those in higher education institutions, causing them to rethink their policies. But do they represent a new revolution in the often-changing world of education or are they merely an evolution of the same old pedagogies, updated and upgraded to appease the technologically obsessed masses? Are they hype…or simply hope? For stakeholders in Philippine state universities and colleges, the question is simpler. Faced with shrinking budgets and rising costs, in a country where the price of quality education is high and access to it remains a serious concern, they ask: Does this new model present an opportunity to re-envision how they deliver instruction, giving greater accessibility to all students, or does it merely represent a fad, providing little or no assurance of improving student learning outcomes? This paper attempts to answer these questions by summarizing and analyzing the issues, challenges, threats, opportunities, and implications brought about by the phenomenon. It is intended to give these stakeholders a better understanding of the new paradigm that may guide them in formulating policies and specific strategies to address the continuing movement toward openness in education, and in so doing, they may ultimately fulfill the promise embodied in our Constitution—to provide affordable quality education accessible to all. |
| Keywords: | Philippines, state universities and colleges (SUCs), Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), open education, blended learning, flipped classroom |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:rpseri:dp_2015-47&r=edu |
| By: | Elsner, Benjamin (IZA); Isphording, Ingo E. (IZA) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we show that a student's ordinal rank in a high school cohort is an important determinant of engaging in risky behaviors. Using longitudinal data from representative US high schools, and exploiting idiosyncratic variation in the cohort composition within a school, we find a strong negative effect of a student's rank on the likelihood of smoking, drinking, having unprotected sex, and engaging in physical fights. We further provide suggestive evidence that these results are driven by status concerns and differences in career expectations. |
| Keywords: | risky behavior, ability rank, peer effects, beliefs, expectations |
| JEL: | I12 I14 I21 I24 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9478&r=edu |
| By: | Hyatt, James A. |
| Keywords: | Education, Higher Education, pension reform |
| Date: | 2015–11–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:cshedu:qt1mc530rj&r=edu |
| By: | Kuepie, Mathias (LISER (CEPS/INSTEAD)); Nordman, Christophe Jalil (IRD, DIAL, Paris-Dauphine) |
| Abstract: | Using first-hand data from the 2009 Employment and Informal Sector Survey (EESIC) in the two largest cities of the Republic of Congo, Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire, we analyse the impact of education on labour market outcomes, and identify the segments where education pays off the most. Multivariate analyses of the risk of unemployment and sectoral choice indicate that young people face serious difficulties in the labour market: for most of them, their only choice is to remain unemployed or to join the informal sector. To measure the specific impact of schooling on earnings, we address issues related to sample selection and endogeneity of education in the earnings function. The results shed light on heterogeneity in the returns to schooling across the two main cities and institutional sectors. An important finding is that the informal sector does not systematically lag behind the formal sectors in terms of returns to education. We emphasize convex returns to education, meaning that the last years in secondary and tertiary schooling yield the highest returns, while those of primary education are generally lower. This convexity is also apparent in the informal sector, where education (albeit on another scale) again appears as an important determinant of earnings. |
| Keywords: | earnings functions, returns to education, unemployment, labour market participation, informal sector, Republic of Congo |
| JEL: | J24 J31 O12 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9477&r=edu |
| By: | Pei Gao (London School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses the Chinese historical path to mass education in the early 20th century to tackles one hotly debated question Ð what factors explain the rise of mass schooling? Given China's political turmoil and economic backwardness through the early 20th century, the expansion of mass education that was mainly driven by increasing public efforts seems puzzling. Based on a newly assembled dataset, we find that economic factors had little explanatory power in the rise of mass schooling. In contrast, both regional political stability and informal governance imposed by gentry (one important elite group in Chinese history) presented their critical importance. In particular, first we find that counties where previously had more traditional gentry (degree holders via the civil service exam system) provided significantly more public primary schools under the new education system, therefore had higher primary enrolment ratios. This finding is robust to various checks, including adopting an IV strategy. Secondly, the positive effect of local gentry on mass education development were larger in regions where suffered higher level of administrative instability. The explanation this paper proposes is that the near collapse of formal institution through this political chaotic historical period allowed gentry members, as traditional elites in local communities, seized administrative responsibilities, and deliberately supported the mass education development due to their private interests in modern schooling as a potential way to preserve their elites statues. |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hes:wpaper:0089&r=edu |
| By: | Andrew Eyles; Stephen Machin |
| Abstract: | Nearly two thirds of secondary schools in England now have academy status. Andrew Eyles and Stephen Machin are tracking the impact of this unprecedented educational reform on pupil outcomes - in both the first wave of 'sponsored' academies introduced by Labour and the coalition's wider programme of 'converter' schools. |
| Keywords: | academies, pupil intake, pupil performance |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepcnp:452&r=edu |
| By: | Galichin, V. A. (Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA)) |
| Abstract: | The paper analyzes the main characteristics and tendentions of international market of educational services, describes in detail the situation with the development of strategies of internationalization policy in the sphere of export education enforcement services and the development of academic mobility in different individual countries are considered the conditions and factors strengthening of Russia's position in international education. The results can be used by state and non-governmental organizations in activities. |
| Keywords: | educational services, development tendentions |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rnp:ppaper:dok14&r=edu |
| By: | Olegs Krasnopjorovs (Bank of Latvia) |
| Abstract: | We employ EU-SILC micro data for Latvia to study how returns to education have changed during the economic crisis of 2008–2009 and afterwards. We found that returns to education increased significantly during the crisis and decreased slightly during the subsequent economic recovery. The counter-cyclical effect of education on wages was particularly strong for males; it was evident in majority of sectors and all age groups (except youth, for citizens of Latvia, resident non-citizens and other country citizens as well as in all regions of the country, particularly outside the capital city region. The share of career component (better access to higher paid occupations, sectors and positions) in the Mincer coefficient remained broadly constant over time. After the crisis, education became even more associated with a longer working week and higher chances to be employed. Furthermore, we show that returns to education in Latvia are generally higher in the capital city and its suburbs than outside the capital city region, for citizens of Latvia than for resident non-citizens and citizens of other countries, but lower for males and young people. Wage differential models reveal a relatively large wage premium for higher education and rather small for secondary education. In line with the previous findings for other countries, the estimates obtained with instrumental variable models significantly exceed the Mincer coefficient. |
| Keywords: | returns to education, Mincer coefficient, wage differentials model, higher education wage premium, instrumental variables |
| JEL: | J31 |
| Date: | 2015–11–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ltv:wpaper:201503&r=edu |
| By: | Adsera, Alicia (Princeton University); Ferrer, Ana (University of Waterloo) |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the analysis of the integration of immigrants in the Canadian labour market by focusing in two relatively new dimensions. We combine the large samples of the restricted version of the Canadian Census (1991-2006) with both a new measure of linguistic proximity of the immigrant's mother tongue to that of the destination country, and with information of the occupational skills embodied in the jobs immigrants hold. This allows us to assess the role that language plays in the labour market performance of immigrants and to better study their career progression relative to the native born. Weekly wage differences between immigrants and the native born are driven mostly by penalties associated with immigrants' lower returns to social skills, but not to analytical or manual skills. Interestingly, low linguistic proximity between origin and destination language imposes larger wage penalties to the university-educated, and significantly affects the status of the jobs they hold. The influence of linguistic proximity on the skill content of jobs immigrants hold over time also varies by the educational level of the migrant. We also show that immigrants settling in Quebec and whose mother tongue is close to French have similar or better labour market outcomes (relative to native-born residents in Quebec) than immigrants with close linguistic proximity to English settling outside Quebec (relative to native born residents in the rest of Canada). However, since wages in Quebec are lower than elsewhere, immigrants in Quebec earn less in absolute terms than those residing elsewhere. |
| Keywords: | migration, occupational skills, linguistic ability, wage assimilation, linguistic proximity |
| JEL: | F22 J24 J31 J5 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9499&r=edu |
| By: | Avraamova, Elena M. (Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA)); Klyachko, Tatiana (Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA)); Loginov, Dmitriy (Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA)) |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on the development of education potential via system supplementary/continuous professional training as the task posed by the national economy amid growing sectoral competion. |
| Keywords: | Russian economy, continuing professional education, education reform |
| Date: | 2015–09–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rnp:ppaper:dok10&r=edu |
| By: | Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela |
| Abstract: | Unemployment is bad news not just for the individuals who lose their jobs but also for their families. Jenifer Ruiz-Valenzuela examines this underemphasised cost of economic downturns by measuring the impact of parental job loss on children's school results in Spain during the Great Recession. |
| Keywords: | parental job loss, school performance, great recession |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepcnp:460&r=edu |
| By: | Nancy Murray |
| Abstract: | Mathematica designed, implemented, and rigorously evaluated evidence-based school dropout prevention pilot interventions in four Asian countries—India, Tajikistan, Cambodia, and Timor-Leste. |
| Keywords: | Education, international, USAID, reading, CIPRE, School Dropout Prevention |
| JEL: | F Z |
| Date: | 2015–09–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mpr:mprres:6c67c89686ba46369481c67683627928&r=edu |