THE EFFECTS OF SECONDARY SCHOOL QUALITY ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF EARNINGS

A number of researchers have investigated the effects of school quality on average earnings in the postschooling years. In this article we broaden the discussion to investigate whether school quality has a measurable impact at other points in the conditional earnings distribution. We find that in specifications that do not control for individual and family background characteristics there are differential effects of school resources on earnings. The most significant effects occur in the top half of the conditional earnings distribution. However, after controlling for a variety of demographic variables, much of the impact of school resources on earnings is diminished. Exceptions to this seem to be school enrollment levels and, to a lesser degree, expenditures: higher enrollments tend to raise the upper tail of the earnings distribution without a similar increase in the bottom of the distribution; the effect of expenditures is positive and significant for the 0.25 quantile and the median.     

The Relationship Between Economic Understanding and the Social Studies Curriculum

Much research is needed to determine the extent to which the high school social studies curriculum, and certain courses within that curriculum, contribute toward economic understanding. Boddy and Tocco report on their attempt to assess the social studies curriculum in Southwest Florida. They also single out one required course, Americanism vs. Communism, which was designed to “emphasize the free-enterprise-competitive economy of the United States,” and measure its impact on a sample of high school seniors. The findings are not encouraging. Although this study applies to one limited geographic area, others may find it interesting because it suggests the need for similar research in other parts of the nation.     

Why is There a Graduate Earnings Premium for Students From Independent Schools?

We examine the determinants of occupational earnings of UK 1993 graduates and focus on the influence of the type of school the graduate attended prior to university entrance. For data reasons, we restrict attention to graduates who attended school in England. We estimate that, on average, a male (female) graduate who attended an Independent school receives an earnings premium of 3.1 per cent (3.4 per cent) over and above the earnings of a graduate who attended an LEA school, ceteris paribus . We also find considerable variation across different Independent schools in the size of the graduate earnings premium, especially for males, and show that in the case of males the premium increases with the level of school fees, but is not statistically related to measures of school–level average academic performance.     

Central school exit exams and labor-market outcomes

Many countries use centralized exit exams as a governance devise of the school system. While abundant evidence suggests positive effects of central exams on achievement tests, previous research on university-bound students shows no effects on subsequent earnings. We suggest that labor-market effects may be more imminent for students leaving school directly for the labor market and, on rigid labor markets, for unemployment. Exploiting variation in exit-exam systems across German states, we find that central exams are indeed associated with higher earnings for students from the school type directly bound for the labor market, as well as with lower unemployment.     

Gender asymmetries: Impacts of an early‐stage school intervention in the Philippines

This paper examines long‐term impacts of improved school quality at the elementary school cycle on subsequent schooling investments and labor market outcomes using unique data from a survey that tracked nearly 3,500 former students in the Philippines. The Third Elementary Education Project (TEEP) intervention introduced a package of investments and management reforms at the school level, including classroom constructions, textbooks, teacher training, and school‐based management in the period of 2000 to 2006. The impacts on subsequent schooling investments and labor market earnings differ between females and males. The intervention significantly increased earnings among females, which reduced the existing wage gap by gender. However, the findings on schooling outcomes are mixed; the gender gap tended to widen, enhancing females’ existing relative advantage in schooling, though their impacts are insignificant for both females and males.     

The effects of the high school curriculum on school dropout

High school dropouts and their lower employment prospects are a major concern for developed countries. This article answers the question whether the high school curriculum has the potential to affect students’ dropout decision. Focusing on the curriculum is also motivated by the manifold curriculum reforms or reform initiatives worldwide. Using a quasi-experimental evaluation design, we identify the effects of a curriculum reform on students’ probability to drop out of high school in the short run, i.e. for the first three cohorts graduating under the new curriculum requirements. The reform increased the curriculum requirements in high school, for instance, by reducing the freedom of choice in course selection. The results show that high school dropout rates increased for males and females alike.     

Educational Financing and Lifetime Earnings

This paper formulates and estimates a dynamic programming model of optimal educational financing decisions. The main purpose of the paper is to measure the effect of short-term parental cash transfers, received during school, on educational borrowing and in-school work decisions, and on post-graduation lifetime earnings. The estimated parameters of the model imply that parental cash transfers do not significantly influence post-graduation lifetime earnings. Long-term factors such as family background and prior human capital investments are more important. Parental cash transfers do, however, significantly determine the decision to borrow or work during school and the level of lifetime consumption.     

Does the early bird catch the worm? The effect of school starting age on educational attainment and labor market outcomes: Evidence from Chinese urban twins data

This paper estimates the effects of school starting age (SSA) on educational attainment and labor market outcomes by using unique urban adult twins data from China. Ordinary least squares (OLS) estimates indicate that late enrollment in primary school lowers years of education, earnings, wage rate, and probability of employment. However, when we use the within-monozygotic (MZ)-twin fixed effects method to exclude unobservable endowments and family factors, the effects of SSA on years of education become less negative. For earnings, wage rate, and the probability of employment, the within-twin fixed effects estimates become insignificant. The results indicate that a one-year delay in primary school starting age lowers schooling by 0.51 years but does not affect earnings, wage rate, or probability of employment. The difference between OLS and within-MZ-twin fixed effects estimates indicates that the negative return to SSA is due to unobservable family variables and omitted individual-specific endowments. We further find that the earlier primary school starters fail to obtain a level of education with high return. Specifically, early birds do not have a high probability of getting a vocational school degree or above.     

Returns to skills around the world: Evidence from PIAAC

Existing estimates of the labor-market returns to human capital give a distorted picture of the role of skills across different economies. International comparisons of earnings analyses rely almost exclusively on school attainment measures of human capital, and evidence incorporating direct measures of cognitive skills is mostly restricted to early-career workers in the United States. Analysis of the new PIAAC survey of adult skills over the full lifecycle in 23 countries shows that the focus on early-career earnings leads to underestimating the lifetime returns to skills by about one quarter. On average, a one-standard-deviation increase in numeracy skills is associated with an 18 percent wage increase among prime-age workers. But this masks considerable heterogeneity across countries. Eight countries, including all Nordic countries, have returns between 12 and 15 percent, while six are above 21 percent with the largest return being 28 percent in the United States. Estimates are remarkably robust to different earnings and skill measures, additional controls, and various subgroups. Instrumental-variable models that use skill variation stemming from school attainment, parental education, or compulsory-schooling laws provide even higher estimates. Intriguingly, returns to skills are systematically lower in countries with higher union density, stricter employment protection, and larger public-sector shares.     

EARNINGS INEQUALITY, LABOUR SUPPLY AND SCHOOLING IN HUSBAND–WIFE FAMILIES

This paper describes the association between market work and earnings inequality across families over the life cycle and over calendar time with special attention to the different experiences of college‐educated and high‐school‐educated people. A concise and effective accounting framework is developed that allows for an assessment of the effect of the growing market employment of married women on family earnings inequality. Applying this framework to pseudo‐panel data from successive Current Population Surveys indicates that the increase in wives' employment has diminished the growth in family earnings inequality especially for well‐educated couples. Inferences about the level and change in earnings inequality depend on the degree of labor market attachment of the people studied especially in the case of wives.