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This paper exploits unique information on cognitive ability to examine the importance of schooling and non-schooling cognitive skills for heterogeneous individuals using instrumental variables estimation. Using a binary instrument based on the 1981 reform in Chile, the authors find that the main beneficiaries of the reform were those who at the time were pupils in basic schooling (ages 6-13). For this treated group of pupils, only a negligible part of the estimated return to schooling is due to classical ability bias. The labor market reward to an additional year of schooling is a measure of the "true" non-cognitive return to schooling. However, once the treated group is expanded to include secondary school students, the pure return to schooling decreases dramatically, while the return to schooling cognitive and non-schooling cognitive skills increases accordingly, suggesting that a large part of the estimated return in an earnings function is due to classical ability bias. For this treated group (mixture of basic school and secondary school age students), the labor market rewarded cognitive skills (especially those acquired through schooling) significantly.

Basic schooling --- Cognitive skills --- Compulsory schooling --- Education --- Education for All --- Education investments --- Educational attainment --- Educational levels --- Effective Schools and Teachers --- Primary Education --- School age --- School students --- Schooling --- Secondary Education --- Secondary school

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This paper estimates the impacts of secondary school on human capital, occupational choice, and fertility for young adults in Kenya. The probability of admission to government secondary school rises sharply at a score close to the national mean on a standardized 8th grade examination, permitting the estimation of causal effects of schooling in a regression discontinuity framework. The analysis combines administrative test score data with a recent survey of young adults to estimate these impacts. The results show that secondary schooling increases human capital, as measured by performance on cognitive tests included in the survey. For men, there is a drop in the probability of low-skill self-employment, as well as suggestive evidence of a rise in the probability of formal employment. The opportunity to attend secondary school also reduces teen pregnancy among women.

Academic year --- Adults --- Average schooling --- Basic education --- Catholic schools --- Childbearing --- Class size --- Class-size --- Cognitive performance --- Cognitive test --- Development goals --- Development policy --- Disasters --- District education --- Early marriage --- Educated parents --- Education --- Education for all --- Education investments --- Education offices --- Education policy --- Education system --- Educational attainment --- Educational participation --- Effects of education --- Examination --- Fees --- Female education --- Female schooling --- Fertility --- First births --- First child --- Free primary education --- Gender parity --- Girls' schools --- Grade repetition --- Health, nutrition and population --- High school --- HIV --- Human capital --- Human capital accumulation --- Human development --- Impact of education --- Infant --- Infant health --- Labor market --- Labor markets --- Learning --- Learning outcomes --- Level of education --- Literacy --- Low-income country --- Marriage --- Millennium development goals --- Mother --- National boundaries --- National schools --- Natural disasters --- Number of schools --- Number of students --- Older men --- Parents' education --- Policies --- Policy --- Policy change --- Policy discussions --- Policy research --- Policy research working paper --- Population --- Population growth --- Population policies --- Populations --- Pregnancies --- Pregnancy --- Pregnancy by age --- Primary education --- Primary education policy --- Primary education system --- Primary school --- Primary school leaving examination --- Primary schooling --- Primary schools --- Private schools --- Private secondary schools --- Progress --- Public examination system --- Public schools --- Public services --- Publishers --- Rates of population --- Respect --- Returns to education --- Rural areas --- School --- School administrators --- School attendance --- School completion --- School construction --- School enrollment --- School entry --- School fees --- School leaders --- School leaving examination --- School participation --- School quality --- Schooling --- Schools --- Secondary education --- Secondary school --- Secondary schooling --- Secondary schools --- Sex --- Sexual behavior --- Skills --- Spouse --- Student achievement --- Students --- Teachers --- Teen --- Teen pregnancy --- Teens --- Tertiary education --- Textbooks --- Universal primary education --- Urban centers --- Values --- Vocational education --- Vocational schools --- War --- Women --- Young adults --- Young men --- Young women