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on Education |
| By: | Ahmed Elsayed (IZA); Olivier Marie (Erasmus University Rotterdam) |
| Abstract: | Exploiting a unique policy reform in Egypt that reduced the number of years of compulsory schooling, we show how it unexpectedly increased education attainment as more students chose to complete the next school stage. This impact is almost entirely driven by girls from more disadvantaged households. Treated women later experienced important positive improvements in labor market opportunity and marriage quality, as measured by bride price received and household bargaining power. We attribute the increased investment in daughters’ human capital to changes in the behavior of credit-constrained families facing reduced school costs combined with strongly non-linear returns to female education. |
| Keywords: | School Costs, Education Investment, Gender Bias, Female Labor Market, Marriage, Bride Price, Egypt |
| JEL: | I21 I25 J24 O55 |
| Date: | 2020–06–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20200037&r=all |
| By: | Azevedo,Joao Pedro Wagner De; Hasan,Amer; Goldemberg,Diana; Iqbal,Syedah Aroob; Geven,Koen Martijn |
| Abstract: | School closures due to COVID-19 have left more than a billion students out of school. This paper presents the results of simulations considering three, five and seven months of school closure and different levels of mitigation effectiveness resulting in optimistic, intermediate and pessimistic global scenarios. Using data on 157 countries, the analysis finds that the global level of schooling and learning will fall. COVID-19 could result in a loss of between 0.3 and 0.9 years of schooling adjusted for quality, bringing down the effective years of basic schooling that students achieve during their lifetime from 7.9 years to between 7.0 and 7.6 years. Close to 7 million students from primary up to secondary education could drop out due to the income shock of the pandemic alone. Students from the current cohort could, on average, face a reduction of $355, $872, or $1,408 in yearly earnings. In present value terms, this amounts to between $6,472 and $25,680 dollars in lost earnings over a typical student's lifetime. Exclusion and inequality will likely be exacerbated if already marginalized and vulnerable groups, like girls, ethnic minorities, and persons with disabilities, are more adversely affected by the school closures. Globally, a school shutdown of 5 months could generate learning losses that have a present value of $10 trillion. By this measure, the world could stand to lose as much as 16 percent of the investments that governments make in the basic education of this cohort of students. The world could thus face a substantial setback in achieving the goal of halving the percentage of learning poor and be unable to meet the goal by 2030 unless drastic remedial action is taken. |
| Date: | 2020–06–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:9284&r=all |
| By: | Emran,M. Shahe; Ferreira,Francisco H. G.; Jiang,Yajing; Sun,Yan |
| Abstract: | This paper extends the Becker-Tomes model of intergenerational educational mobility to a rural economy characterized by farm-nonfarm occupational dualism and provides a comparative analysis of rural China and rural India. The model builds a micro-foundation for the widely used linear-in-levels estimating equation. Returns to education for parents and productivity of financial investment in children's education determine relative mobility, as measured by the slope, while the intercept depends, among other factors, on the degree of persistence in nonfarm occupations. Unlike many existing studies based on coresident samples, our estimates of intergenerational mobiity do not suffer from truncation bias. The sons in rural India faced lower educational mobility compared with the sons in rural China in the 1970s to 1990s. To understand the role of genetic inheritance, Altonji et al. (2005) sensitivity analysis is combined with the evidence on intergenerational correlation in cognitive ability in economics and behavioral genetics literature. The observed persistence can be due solely to genetic correlations in China, but not in India. Fathers'nonfarm occupation and education were complementary in determining a sons'schooling in India, but separable in China. There is evidence of emerging complementarity for the younger cohorts in rural China. Structural change in favor of the nonfarm sector contributed to educational inequality in rural India. Evidence from supplementary data on economic mechanisms suggests that the model provides plausible explanations for the contrasting roles of occupational dualism in intergenerational educational mobility in rural India and rural China. |
| Keywords: | Educational Sciences,Labor Markets,Economics of Education,Education Finance,Food Security |
| Date: | 2020–07–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:9316&r=all |
| By: | Anushree Sinha; Astha Sen; Rajesh Kumar Jaiswal (National Council of Applied Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | In comparison to the rest of India, Rajasthan continues to suffer from disturbingly low female literacy rate, poor enrolment and retention rates of girls in schools mostly the in rural areas, but also in the small urban towns. This research informs the design of a cash transfer policy intended to improve enrolment levels of 13-15-year-old girls in secondary schools in Dhaulpur, a district of Rajasthan. Secondly, it statistically identifies non-monetary factors contributing towards parents’ decision of enrolling their daughters in secondary education, in the presence of a large enough cash grant. Furthermore, the study statistically investigates attributes that influence the size of the cash grant chosen by parents for enroling their daughters in secondary school. Caste, level of education acquired by parent/s and concerns regarding the safety of girls’ determine the choice of a cash grant. |
| Keywords: | Cash Transfers, Secondary Education, School Enrolments, Rural, Rajasthan, Direct Costs Girl Education, Education Costs, Opportunity Cost, and Policy-Making |
| JEL: | C81 I38 I22 O15 |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nca:ncaerw:117&r=all |
| By: | Díaz Serrano, Lluís |
| Abstract: | A straightforward way of keeping children in school is increasing the duration of compulsory education. Evidence of the impact of this type of policy in Western countries is abundant. However, its effectiveness has been rarely tested in low-income countries. Using panel data of low-income and lower-middle-income countries covering the period 1996-2017, this paper analyzes the impact of lengthening the duration of compulsory education on the transition of children from primary to secondary education. The empirical results show that in those countries where this policy is implemented, there is a significant increase in the share of children transiting from primary to secondary education but only in those countries where the reform implies that the duration of compulsory education becomes longer than the duration of primary education. JEL Classification: I21, I25, I28. Keywords: compulsory education, educational achievement, educational transitions, low-income countries, panel data, education policy |
| Keywords: | Escolaritat obligatòria, Política educativa, 371 - Organització i gestió de l'educació i de l'ensenyament, |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:urv:wpaper:2072/376037&r=all |
| By: | Tien Manh Vu (Asian Growth Research Institute); Hiroyuki Yamada (Faculty of Economics, Keio University) |
| Abstract: | We investigated the impact of individuals who passed the Vietnamese imperial examinations (1075-1919) on the present-day quantity and quality of education in their home districts. We layered the 2009 Population and Housing Census and the 2009 National Entrance Exams to University (NEEU) test scores on the geographical distribution of imperial test takers' home districts. We constructed a novel instrumental variable representing the average distance between the examinees' home districts and the corresponding imperial examination venues. We found a persistent legacy in the average years of schooling, literacy rate, school attendance rate, NEEU test scores, and primary school dropout rate. |
| Keywords: | Education, Human Capital, Imperial Examination, Historical Legacy, Vietnam |
| JEL: | I25 N35 O15 |
| Date: | 2020–06–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:keo:dpaper:2020-012&r=all |
| By: | Jake Anders (Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, UCL Institute of Education, University College London); Andy Dickerson (Department of Economics, University of Sheffield); Paul Gregg (Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath); Lindsey Macmillan (Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, UCL Institute of Education, University College London) |
| Abstract: | While recent forecasts have pointed to an employment shock of a similar magnitude to that seen in the previous Great Recession, many of the circumstances this time round suggest we may be facing a more severe experience. This is likely to disproportionately affect young people, those from deprived families both in adulthood and in childhood, ethnic minorities, and those with low levels of education. Evidence shows that there are long-term costs to spells out of work, including reduced employment opportunities and wages, alongside lower job satisfaction, health and happiness. A combined response of macro-level interventions, alongside individually-targeted education, skills and active labour market policy responses are required. Targeted cuts to National Insurance, changing the incentives of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), increasing access courses to higher education, funding further education routes, and combined interventions including targeted job support schemes and high quality work placements are all policies that can aid recovery and minimise the costs of scarring. |
| Keywords: | unemployment, COVID-19, scarring, ALMP, education policy |
| JEL: | E24 I28 J68 |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucl:cepeow:20-12&r=all |
| By: | Carlos Gradín; Félix Mambo; Yonesse Paris; Ricardo Santos |
| Abstract: | Students' expectations about their future wages are established in the literature as relevant determinants of the choices made for education progression and, at the university level, for the area and course to be studied. In this paper, the first comparable analysis in sub-Saharan Africa, we examine the evidence and causes of unequal wage expectations of Mozambican university students prior to their transition to the labour market. The measurements of segmentation, stratification, and inequality decomposition are applied to better understand the underlying causes of these. |
| Keywords: | Inequality, inequality decomposition, Stratification, Sub-Saharan Africa, wage expectation |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2020-78&r=all |
| By: | Kutscher, Macarena (University of Maryland); Nath, Shanjukta (University of Maryland); Urzua, Sergio (University of Maryland) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether centralized admissions systems can alter school segregation. We take advantage of the largest school-admission reform implemented to date: Chile's SAS, which in 2016 replaced the country's decentralized system with a Deferred Acceptance algorithm. We exploit its incremental implementation and employ a Difference-in-Difference design. Using rich administrative student-level records, we find the effect of SAS critically depends on pre-existing levels of residential segregation and local school supply. For instance, districts with prominent provision of private education experience an uptick in school segregation due to SAS. Migration of high-SES students to private schools emerges as a key driver. |
| Keywords: | education, inequality, segregation |
| JEL: | I20 I24 I28 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13305&r=all |
| By: | Duque, Valentina; Gilraine, Michael |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effect of air pollution from power production on students’ cognitive outcomes. To do so, we leverage variation in power production over time, wind patterns, and plant closures. We find that each one million megawatt hours of coal-fired power production decreases student performance in schools within ten kilometers by 0.02 SD and 0.01 SD in math and English, respectively. We find no such relationship for gas-fired plants. Extrapolating our results nationwide indicates that the decline in coal use in the United States from 2007 through 2018 increased student performance by 0.003 SD and reduced the black-white test score gap by 0.002 SD. |
| Keywords: | Air Pollution; Coal Power; Education; Health. |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:syd:wpaper:2020-07&r=all |
| By: | Judith M. Delaney; Paul J. Devereux |
| Abstract: | Using unique data on preference rankings for all high school students who apply for college in Ireland, we investigate whether, conditional on absolute achievement, within school-cohort rank in English and math affects choice of college major. We find that higher rank in math increases the likelihood of choosing STEM and decreases the likelihood of choosing Arts and Social Sciences. Similarly, a higher rank in English leads to an increase in the probability of choosing Arts and Social Sciences and decreases the probability of choosing STEM. The rank effects are substantial, being about one third as large as the effects of absolute performance in math and English. We identify subject choice in school as an important mediator – students who rank high in math are more likely to choose STEM subjects in school and this can partly explain their subsequent higher likelihood of choosing STEM for college. We also find that English and math rank have significant explanatory power for the gender gap in the choice of STEM as a college major--they can explain about 36% as much as absolute performance in English and math. Overall, the tendency for girls to be higher ranked in English and lower ranked in math within school-cohorts can explain about 6% of the STEM gender gap in mixed-sex schools and about 16% of the difference in the STEM gender gap between mixed-sex schools and same-sex schools. Notably, these effects occur even though within-school rank plays no role whatsoever in college admissions decisions. |
| Keywords: | High school rank; STEM; College major choice; Gender gap; Comparative advantage |
| JEL: | I20 J16 |
| Date: | 2019–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucn:wpaper:201931&r=all |
| By: | Asim,Salman; Riaz,Amina |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the results of a field experiment in rural Sindh, Pakistan, where half of the school-age children (ages 6-10 years) are out of school. The study tests simple and low-intensity approaches to strengthen engagement of communities with schools: face-to-face dialogue at externally facilitated community meetings, and ongoing, anonymous dialogue via text messages. The interventions increased communities'interest in education as measured through an improvement in the number of functioning schools and, in the case of the text message treatment, substantial gains in retention of students in grades 2, 3, and 4. On the supply side, the schools significantly increased staffing and the share of one-teacher schools was reduced; however, teacher absenteeism increased, and there was no substantial impact on basic school infrastructure. Elections and capacity building for school committees were implemented in a cross-over experimental design. The intervention undermined the participation of communities in meetings and reduced impacts on all indicators except new admissions and availability of toilets in schools. No evidence is found of impact on measured test scores for any intervention. |
| Date: | 2020–06–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:9280&r=all |
| By: | Pierre Cahuc (Département d'économie); Jérémy Hervelin (Centre recherche d'économie et de statistique (CNRS) (CREST)) |
| Abstract: | In France, two years after school completion and getting the same diploma, the employment rate of apprentices is about 15 percentage points higher than that of vocational students. Despite this difference, this paper shows that there is almost no difference between the probability of getting a callback from employers for unemployed youth formerly either apprentices or vocational students. This result indicates that the higher employment rate of apprentices does not rely, in the French context, on better job access of those who do not remain in their training firms. The estimation of a job search and matching model shows that the expansion of apprenticeship has very limited effects on youth unemployment if this is not accompanied by an increase in the retention of apprentices in their training firm. |
| Keywords: | Apprenticeship; School-to-work transitions; Field experiment |
| JEL: | J24 M53 M51 |
| Date: | 2020–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6e2orh3r9o8dup1p101dilv74g&r=all |
| By: | Esteban M. Aucejo; Jacob F. French; Maria Paola Ugalde Araya; Basit Zafar |
| Abstract: | In order to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education, we surveyed approximately 1,500 students at one of the largest public institutions in the United States using an instrument designed to recover the causal impact of the pandemic on students' current and expected outcomes. Results show large negative effects across many dimensions. Due to COVID-19: 13% of students have delayed graduation, 40% lost a job, internship, or a job offer, and 29% expect to earn less at age 35. Moreover, these effects have been highly heterogeneous. One quarter of students increased their study time by more than 4 hours per week due to COVID-19, while another quarter decreased their study time by more than 5 hours per week. This heterogeneity often followed existing socioeconomic divides; lower-income students are 55% more likely to have delayed graduation due to COVID-19 than their higher-income peers. Finally, we show that the economic and health related shocks induced by COVID-19 vary systematically by socioeconomic factors and constitute key mediators in explaining the large (and heterogeneous) effects of the pandemic. |
| JEL: | I2 I23 I24 |
| Date: | 2020–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27392&r=all |