|
on Education |
|
Issue of 2017‒01‒22
twenty papers chosen by João Carlos Correia Leitão Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Korthals, Roxanne (General Economics 2 (Macro)) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to estimate the causal effects of an accelerated curriculum, in which students progress through the course material faster, on cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes. I employ two methods: First, I make use of the cohorts before and after the introduction of the possibility to accelerate and of classes which are and which are not considered for acceleration using a Difference-in-Differences (DiD) strategy. However, it seems reasonable that the best students benefit from this policy, while it is less clear that the less able students would benefit. Therefore I also employ a second method in which I only look at the effects for the marginal student. For this, I use school grades to employ a fuzzy Regression Discontinuity Design (fRDD). Using both methods, I find that after one year the students who accelerated scored significantly higher on certain sub scores of the mathematics tests. I find no definitive results on non-cognitive skills: Using the DiD, I find that this positive cognitive effect is countered by lower scores on the teacher rated scores on perseverance, concentration, and conversation skills. For the marginal student, I find almost no effects on non-cognitive skills. |
| Keywords: | curriculum, instruction hours, student performance, non-cognitive skills |
| JEL: | I20 I21 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:umagsb:2017003&r=edu |
| By: | Elena Soto-Calvo (Liverpool John Moores University. Natural Sciences and Psychology, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF (United Kingdom)); Mabel Sánchez-Barrioluengo (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | Children’s competence levels in numeracy and literacy before or at school onset are good predictors of their attainment over the school years. Nevertheless, there are large differences in the level of numeracy and literacy knowledge among children at school entry. This initial knowledge gap has long-lasting negative consequences for the poor performers. Here we used international secondary data from the PIRLS&TIMSS 2011 as well as TIMSS 2011, including background data collected with the Learning to Read Survey, to identify early literacy practices that predict later mathematical attainment. Previous studies conducted using the same dataset have reported that early numeracy and literacy abilities before school onset (as reported by parents) are associated with students’ later mathematical and reading attainment, respectively. Nevertheless recent theoretical frameworks of early mathematical development include certain literacy skills as an independent predictors of mathematical performance. Using ordinary least square regression models we found that early numeracy competences consistently predicted later mathematical attainment while the effects of early literacy competences were variable and not always significant for the individual countries. Results also showed a stronger influence of early reading abilities than of early writing abilities on later mathematical attainment. The identified effects were independent of children’s gender, home resources for learning, parents’ highest education and occupation level, student years of pre-school attendance and early numeracy abilities. This report complements and extents previous body of research by determining the relative impact that early literacy skills have on later mathematical attainment across EU countries. Findings highlight the importance of including numeracy and literacy practices in the preprimary curriculum as well as the challenges of implementing ECEC curricula on the basis of identified best practices from international research. |
| Keywords: | Early childhood education and care, numeracy, literacy, TIMSS, PIRLS |
| JEL: | A14 A29 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc102210&r=edu |
| By: | Tetsuo Ono (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University); Yuki Uchida (Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University) |
| Abstract: | This study presents a two-class, successive generations model with human capi- tal accumulation and the choice to opt out of public education. The model demon- strates the mutual interaction between inequality and education choice and shows that the interaction leads to two locally stable steady-state equilibria. The exis- tence of multiple stable equilibria implies a negative correlation between inequality and enrollment in public education, which is consistent with evidence from OECD countries. This study also presents a welfare analysis using data from OECD coun- tries and shows that introducing a compulsory public education system leaves the rst generation worse off, though improves welfare for future generations of indi- viduals in a lower class. The results also suggest that the two equilibria are not Pareto-ranked. |
| Keywords: | Public education, opting out, inequality |
| JEL: | D70 H52 I24 |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:1617r&r=edu |
| By: | Marina Della Giusta (Department of Economics, University of Reading); Antonia Fernandez (Department of Economics, University of Reading); Sarah Jewell (Department of Economics, University of Reading) |
| Abstract: | We report the results of a project monitoring Student Wellbeing in tertiary education. We investigate wellbeing broadly and wellbeing at university and focus on the role of both academic factors (teaching and learning experience and student expectations and performance) and non-academic ones (student health and finances, term-time employment and social life) and discuss our findings in the context of both student support and measuring the value of higher education. |
| JEL: | I26 I31 J28 |
| Date: | 2017–01–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rdg:emxxdp:em-dp2017-01&r=edu |
| By: | Aneta Ewa Waszkiewicz (Warsaw School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This study was designed to assess knowledge and awareness of students of Polish economic universities in terms of forms of enterprise financing. Particular attention was focused on innovative forms of capital raising as crowdfunding due to its dynamic development in the world, but also crowdfunding seems to correspond to the needs of Generation Y as future entrepreneurs. The research hypothesis is that Polish Generation Y has only a theoretical knowledge of the sources of funding enterprises. Polish students, although they are proficient in new technologies, they do not know innovative capital raising on the Internet because they do not receive this knowledge at the university. The quantitative research was conducted and designed to test knowledge of the forms of financing and knowledge of the development of innovative funding methods. The qualitative research was used to indicate the needs of Millennials as to the possibility of obtaining financial knowledge as well as the skills to use it. The main findings demonstrated a gap in education for innovative methods of funding but also indicated recommendations for potential changes in the education of Generation Y |
| Keywords: | crowdfunding, Generation Y (Gen Y), Millennials, p2p lending, financial literacy, financial education |
| JEL: | A14 A20 D12 D83 O33 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:war:wpaper:2017-05&r=edu |
| By: | Fabrice Murtin; Johan Mackenbach (Erasmus University Rotterdam); Domantas Jasilionis; Marco Mira d’Ercole |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses inequality in longevity across education and gender groups in 23 OECD countries around 2011. Data on mortality rates by age, gender, educationals attainment and for, 17 countries, cause of death, were collected from national sources, with similar treatment applied to all countries in order to derive comparable measures of longevity at age 25 and 65 by gender and education. These estimates show that, on average, the gap in life expectancy between high and low-educationed people is 8 years for men and 5 years for women at age 25 years, and 3.5 years for men and 2.5 years for women at age 65. Other measures of inequalities in longevity by education (such as country averages of age-standardised mortality rates and the slope index of inequality) do not significantly change the inequality ranking of countries relative to one based on life expectancy measures. While significant, differences in longevity between groups with low and high educational attainment account, on average, for around 10% of overall differences in ages of death. Cardio-vascular diseases are the first cause of death for all gender and education groups after age 65 years, and the first cause of mortality inequality between the high and low-education elderly. Ce document estime les inégalités de longévité par genre et niveaux d’éducation pour 23 pays de l’OCDE aux alentours de 2011. Des données de taux de mortalité par âge, sexe, éducation et, pour 17 pays, par cause de mortalité, ont été collectées à partir de sources statistiques nationales. Un traitement identique a été appliqué à toutes ces données afin d'obtenir des mesures comparables de longévité à 25 et 65 ans par sexe et niveau d’éducation. Ces estimations montrent que, en moyenne, les différences d’espérance de vie à 25 ans entre les personnes à haut et faible niveaux d’éducation sont de 8 ans pour les hommes et de 5 ans pour les femmes, alors que ces différences sont de 3.5 ans pour les hommes et de 2.5 ans pour les femmes à l’âge de 65 ans. D'autres mesures d’inégalité de longévité par niveau d’éducation (tels que les taux moyens de mortalité standardisés ou les indices de pente d’inégalité) fournissent globalement le même classement de pays en termes d’inégalité, par rapport aux indices basés sur l’espérance de vie. Toutefois les différences de longévité entre haut et faible niveaux d’éducation expliquent seulement 10% des differences d’âge à la mort parmi les personnes. Les maladies cardio-vasculaires sont la première cause de mortalité pour tous les groupes d’éducation et de genre après 65 ans, et la première cause d’inégalité de mortalité entre les seniors à haut et faible niveaux d’éducation. |
| Keywords: | cause of death, health, inequality, life expectancy, longevity, mortality, socioeconomic gradient |
| JEL: | I14 I18 |
| Date: | 2017–01–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:stdaaa:2017/2-en&r=edu |
| By: | Ewa Mazurek-Krasodomska (Faculty of Management and Economics, Gdańsk University of Technology); Gabriela Golawska (Faculty of Management and Economics, Gdańsk University of Technology); Anna Rzeczycka (Faculty of Management and Economics, Gdańsk University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | This paper reports a survey aimed at assessing students’ financial awareness and knowledge in the fields of banking and personal, corporate and public finance. The survey on the financial capability of students at the Gdansk University of Technology employed a questionnaire containing 64 questions. It lasted 6 months (June – November 2015) and involved 414 students. It was designed to collect comprehensive information regarding financial capability including knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviour. The present study has shown that the greatest shortcomings of students’ financial knowledge are in the areas of personal finance and corporate finance and they lack satisfactory skills in the fields of public finance and corporate finance. This means that we should now pay attention to the associated learning outcomes. Furthermore, university policy should be geared toward encouraging employers to notify universities of their expectations. On this basis, universities can change their programmes to help engineers make the right financial decisions. This study conducted among the students at the Gdansk University of Technology has allowed us to take a comprehensive look at many issues which could also be the subjects of study in other socioeconomic groups. On the basis of this study we are able to indicate some proposals for desirable changes of direction in the field of research concerning the financial knowledge, skills and awareness of students, and also the possibility of developing them in educational programmes. |
| Keywords: | financial capability, financial knowledge, financial skills, financial awareness |
| JEL: | D14 D19 A23 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:war:wpaper:2017-04&r=edu |
| By: | Richard Guy Cox (Department of Economics, Arizona State University); Darren Grant (Department of Economics and International Business, Sam Houston State University) |
| Abstract: | This paper documents a large educational gradient in traffic fatality rates and investigates its source. Compared to individuals with a college education, those with at most a high school diploma are more than four times as likely to die in a traffic accident, a gradient exceeding that for all-cause mortality. More educated individuals’ health behaviors, such as drinking or seat belt use, support this gradient. A panel analysis of data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System indicates that this gradient is, to a small degree, causal, particularly for males, who cause most traffic accidents. |
| Keywords: | human capital; traffic safety |
| JEL: | I12 I26 R41 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:shs:wpaper:1701&r=edu |
| By: | Juan Francisco Jimeno (Banco de España); Aitor Lacuesta (Banco de España); Marta Martínez-Matute (Banco de España); Ernesto Villanueva (Banco de España) |
| Abstract: | We study how formal education and experience in the labour market correlate with measures of human capital available in thirteen countries participating in the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competences (PIAAC), an international study assessing adults’ proficiency in numeracy and literacy. Two findings are consistent with the notion that, in producing human capital, work experience is a substitute for formal education for respondents with compulsory schooling. Firstly, the number of years of working experience correlates with performance in PIAAC mostly among low-educated individuals. Secondly, individual fixed-effect models suggest that workers in jobs intensive in numerical tasks – relative to reading tasks – perform relatively better in the numeracy section of the PIAAC test than in the reading part. The results are driven by young individuals with low levels of schooling and hold mainly for simple tasks, suggesting that our findings are not fully generated by the sorting of workers across jobs. A back-of-the-envelope estimate suggests that the contribution of on-the-job learning to skill formation is a quarter of that of compulsory schooling in the countries we analyse. |
| Keywords: | human capital, tasks, education, working experience, cognitive skills |
| JEL: | J24 J31 I20 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bde:wpaper:1635&r=edu |
| By: | Rebecca Ferguson; Andrew Brasher; Doug Clow; Adam Cooper; Garron Hillaire; Jenna Mittelmeier; Bart Rienties; Thomas Ullmann; Riina Vuorikari (European Commission – JRC) |
| Abstract: | Learning analytics is an emergent field of research that is growing fast. It takes advantage of the last decade of e-learning implementations in education and training as well as of research and development work in areas such as educational data mining, web analytics and statistics. In recent years, increasing numbers of digital tools for the education and training sectors have included learning analytics to some extent, and these tools are now in the early stages of adoption. This report reviews early uptake in the field, presenting five case studies and an inventory of tools, policies and practices. It also provides an Action List for policymakers, practitioners, researchers and industry members to guide work in Europe. |
| Keywords: | Digitally-competent educational organisations, innovation in education, European Framework for Digitally-Competent Educational Organisations, educational policy, digital learning technologies, self-assessment questionnaire, ICT for learning and skills |
| JEL: | I20 I21 I23 I28 I29 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc104031&r=edu |
| By: | Cordero, José Manuel; Cristobal, Victor; Santín, Daniel |
| Abstract: | The identification of the causal effects of educational policies is the top priority in recent education economics literature. As a result, a shift can be observed in the strategies of empirical studies. They have moved from the use of standard multivariate statistical methods, which identify correlations or associations between variables only, to more complex econometric strategies, which can help to identify causal relationships. However, exogenous variations in databases have to be identified in order to apply causal inference techniques. This is a far from straightforward task. For this reason, this paper provides an extensive and comprehensive overview of the literature using quasi-experimental techniques applied to three well-known international large-scale comparative assessments, such as PISA, PIRLS or TIMSS, over the period 2004-2016. In particular, we review empirical studies employing instrumental variables, regression discontinuity designs, difference in differences and propensity score matching to the above databases. Additionally, we provide a detailed summary of estimation strategies, issues treated and profitability in terms of the quality of publications to encourage further potential evaluations. The paper concludes with some operational recommendations for prospective researchers in the field. |
| Keywords: | Survey, Education, Causal Inference, Selection-bias, International assessments. |
| JEL: | C40 C55 I21 |
| Date: | 2017–01–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:76295&r=edu |
| By: | Sanchari Roy (Department of Economics, University of Sussex); Matthew Morton (World Bank); Shryana Bhattacharya (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the role of social-emotional or psychological capital in determining education and employment aspirations of adolescent girls and young women in India. We find that girls’ self-efficacy and mental health are important determinants of their educational and employment aspirations, suggesting that these hidden forms of human capital may serve as critical targets for interventions aiming to alter girls’ educational and economic trajectories. We also identify factors that correlate with girls’ level of self-efficacy, and find that an “enabling” and supportive family and community environment appears to be important |
| Keywords: | social-emotional skills, self-efficacy, aspirations, adolescents, youth, gender, labor market, education |
| JEL: | I20 I31 Z00 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sus:susewp:09716&r=edu |
| By: | Kluve, Jochen; Puerto, Susanna; Robalino, David; Romero, José Manuel; Rother, Friederike; Stöterau, Jonathan; Weidenkaff, Felix; Witte, Marc |
| Abstract: | This study reviews the evidence on the labor market impact of youth employment programs. We analyze the effectiveness of interventions, and factors that influence program performance including country context, target beneficiaries, program design, implementation, and evaluation type. We identify 113 impact evaluations covering a wide range of methodologies, interventions, and countries. The meta-analysis synthesizes the evidence based on 2,259 effect sizes (Standardized Mean Differences) and the statistical significance of 3,105 impact estimates (Positive and Statistically Significant). Just more than one-third of youth employment program evaluations worldwide show a significant positive impact on labor market outcomes - either employment rates or earnings. In general, programs have been more successful in middle- and low-income countries; this may be because programs' investments are especially helpful for the most vulnerable population groups that they target. We conjecture that recent programs might have benefited from innovations in design and implementation. In middle-low income countries, skills training and entrepreneurship programs have had a higher impact. In high-income countries, the role of intervention type is less decisive - much depends on context and how services are chosen and delivered, a result that holds across country types. We find evidence that programs integrating multiple interventions more likely succeed because they respond better to different needs of beneficiaries. Results also point to the importance of profiling and follow-up systems in determining program performance, as well as to incentive systems for services providers. |
| Keywords: | youth employment,active labor market policy,systematic review,meta-analysis |
| JEL: | J21 J48 E24 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:648&r=edu |
| By: | Max van Lent (Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands); Michiel Souverijn (Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands) |
| Abstract: | We study goal setting using a randomized field experiment involving 1092 first-year undergraduate students. Students have private mentor-student meetings during the year. We instructed a random subset of mentors to encourage students to set a course-specific grade goal during one of the mentor-student meetings (goal treatment). A random subset of those mentors was further instructed to challenge students to set more ambitious goals if deemed appropriate (raise treatment). We find that students in the goal treatment perform significantly better as compared to students in the control group, and more so when they performed poorly prior to the experiment. Next, we find that students in the raise treatment do not perform significantly different from the control group. Finally, students who set a goal and are challenged to set a more ambitious goal perform significantly worse than comparable students in the goal treatment. |
| Keywords: | Goal setting; motivation; education; field experiments |
| JEL: | C93 I23 |
| Date: | 2017–01–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20170001&r=edu |
| By: | Karnani, Mohit |
| Abstract: | We exploit the exogenous characteristic of random freshmen course assignment in a large Chilean university to identify the causal effect of teachers and their qualitative characteristics over students' major choice. Using administrative records, we establish what makes students from the "Commercial Engineering" career chose between an "Economics" major or a "Business" major. We find that first-economic-course teachers may account for 15-22% of the probability of choosing Economics as a major. We also identify which characteristics of these teachers make students more prone to choosing this particular major. These results are robust to the inclusion of different covariates and specifications. Placebo-type falsification tests are performed, confirming our findings. |
| Keywords: | Freshmen, Teachers, College Major, Random Assignment |
| JEL: | A22 C93 I23 J24 |
| Date: | 2016–07–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:76062&r=edu |
| By: | Caterina Calsamiglia; Francisco Martinez-Mora; Antonio Miralles |
| Abstract: | We study the extent to which the widely used Boston Mecha- nism (BM) fosters ability and socioeconomic segregation across public schools. Our model encompasses an endogenous component of school quality -determined by the peer group- and an exogenous one, so that there is at least one bad school ex-ante. Even with no residential priorities, BM generates ability sorting between a priori equally good public schools: an elitist public school emerges. A richer model with some preference for closer schools and flexible residential choice does not eliminate this effect. It rather worsens the peer quality of the nonelitist good school. The existence of private schools makes the best public school more elitist, while the bad school loses peer quality. Their presence may also engender socioeconomic segregation. The main alternative assignment mechanism, Deferred Acceptance, is resilient to such sorting effects. |
| Keywords: | school choice, Mechanism Design, peer effects, local public goods. |
| JEL: | I21 H4 D78 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bge:wpaper:949&r=edu |
| By: | hayat, arshad |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a threshold regression model and split the sample into groups of low-natural resource and high-natural resource groups. This paper used data from 70 countries for the period 1996-2015 and found evidence that FDI has a positive impact on economic growth of the host country if the host country’s natural resource sector is below the threshold. However, FDI inflow doesn’t have any significant impact on growth in countries with natural resource sector larger than the threshold. |
| Keywords: | FDI, Economic Growth, Natural Resources, Threshold Model |
| JEL: | O47 P28 P45 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:76205&r=edu |
| By: | So, Ga-Young |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itse16:148670&r=edu |
| By: | Steven Bradley; Giuseppe Migali |
| Keywords: | Tuition fee reform, Recession, University Dropouts |
| JEL: | I22 I28 J6 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lan:wpaper:149346773&r=edu |
| By: | Chen, Liwen; Gordanier, John; Ozturk, Orgul |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the extent to which children enter into occupations that are different from their father’s occupation, but require similar skills, which we call task following. We also consider the possibility that fathers are able to transfer task specific human capital either through investments or genetic endowments to their children. We show that there is indeed substantial task following, beyond occupational following and that task following is associated with a wage premium of around 5% over otherwise identical workers employed in a job with the same primary task. The wage premium is robust to controls for industry, occupation categories and occupation characteristics. The premium is largest for followers in non-routine cognitive jobs and college graduates. |
| Keywords: | Intergenerational skill transmission, Task measures, Occupation choice |
| JEL: | J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:76041&r=edu |