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Book
Comparable Estimates of Returns to Schooling around the World
Authors: ---
Year: 2014 Publisher: Washington, D.C., The World Bank,

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Abstract

Rates of return to investments in schooling have been estimated since the late 1950s. In the 60-plus year history of such estimates, there have been several attempts to synthesize the empirical results to ascertain patterns. This paper presents comparable estimates, as well as a database, that use the same specification, estimation procedure, and similar data for 139 economies and 819 harmonized household surveys. This effort to compile comparable estimates holds constant the definition of the dependent variable, the set of control variables, the sample definition, and the estimation method for all surveys in the sample. The results of this study show that (1) the returns to schooling are more concentrated around their respective means than previously thought; (2) the basic Mincerian model used is more stable than may have been expected; (3) the returns to schooling are higher for women than for men; (4) returns to schooling and labor market experience are strongly and positively associated; (5) there is a decreasing pattern over time; and (6) the returns to tertiary education are highest.


Book
Can Cost-Benefit Analysis Guide Education Policy in Developing Countries?
Authors: ---
Year: 2008 Publisher: Washington, D.C., The World Bank,

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Abstract

Cost-benefit analysis in education is an important tool in the economists' arsenal. However, it is essential that research, especially on the social benefits of education, make further progress to make cost-benefit more analysis. There is a need for more research on the effects of policy interventions on outcomes beyond access to a year in school and what they earn as a result, such as on what children actually learn. Such research should focus on ensuring that the interventions are attributable to outcomes. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to go through the discipline of noting the benefits and costs, even if social rates of return cannot be calculated robustly.


Book
Can Cost-Benefit Analysis Guide Education Policy in Developing Countries?
Authors: ---
Year: 2008 Publisher: Washington, D.C., The World Bank,

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Abstract

Cost-benefit analysis in education is an important tool in the economists' arsenal. However, it is essential that research, especially on the social benefits of education, make further progress to make cost-benefit more analysis. There is a need for more research on the effects of policy interventions on outcomes beyond access to a year in school and what they earn as a result, such as on what children actually learn. Such research should focus on ensuring that the interventions are attributable to outcomes. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to go through the discipline of noting the benefits and costs, even if social rates of return cannot be calculated robustly.


Book
How Many More Infants Are Likely To Die in Africa As A Result of the Global Financial Crisis?
Authors: ---
Year: 2009 Publisher: Washington, D.C., The World Bank,

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The human consequences of the current global financial crisis for the developing world are presumed to be severe yet few studies have quantified such impact. The authors estimate the additional number of infant deaths in sub-Saharan Africa likely due to the crisis and discuss possible mitigation strategies. They pool birth-level data as reported in female adult retrospective birth histories from all Demographic and Health Surveys collected in sub-Saharan Africa nations. This results in a data set of 639,000 births to 264,000 women in 30 countries. The authors use regression models with flexible controls for temporal trends to assess an infant's likelihood of death as a function of fluctuations in national income. They then apply this estimated likelihood to expected growth shortfalls as a result of the crisis. At current growth projections, their estimates suggest there will be 30,000 - 50,000 excess infant deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. Most of these additional deaths are likely to be poorer children (born to women in rural areas and lower education levels) and are overwhelmingly female. If the crisis continues to worsen the number of deaths may grow much larger, especially those to girls. Policies that protect the income of poor households and that maintain critical health services during times of economic contraction should be considered. Interventions targeted at female infants and young girls may be particularly beneficial.


Book
Accessibility and Affordability of Tertiary Education in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru Within A Global Context
Authors: ---
Year: 2008 Publisher: Washington, D.C., The World Bank,

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This paper examines the financing of tertiary education in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, comparing the affordability and accessibility of tertiary education with that in high-income countries. To measure affordability, the authors estimate education costs, living costs, grants, and loans. Further, they compute the participation rate, attainment rate, and socio-economic equity index in education and the gender equity index as indicators of accessibility. This is the first study attempting to estimate affordability of tertiary education in Latin America within a global context. The analysis combines information from household surveys, expenditure surveys, and administrative and institutional databases. The findings show that families in Latin America have to pay 60 percent of per-capita income for tertiary education per student per year compared with 19 percent in high-income countries. Living costs are significant, at 29 percent of gross domestic product per capita in Latin America (19 percent in high-income countries). Student assistance through grants and loans plays a marginal role in improving affordability. Moreover, the paper confirms previous findings of low access to tertiary education in the region. One policy implication of the findings is that Latin American governments could take steps to make tertiary education more affordable through student assistance.


Book
Accessibility and Affordability of Tertiary Education in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru Within A Global Context
Authors: ---
Year: 2008 Publisher: Washington, D.C., The World Bank,

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Abstract

This paper examines the financing of tertiary education in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, comparing the affordability and accessibility of tertiary education with that in high-income countries. To measure affordability, the authors estimate education costs, living costs, grants, and loans. Further, they compute the participation rate, attainment rate, and socio-economic equity index in education and the gender equity index as indicators of accessibility. This is the first study attempting to estimate affordability of tertiary education in Latin America within a global context. The analysis combines information from household surveys, expenditure surveys, and administrative and institutional databases. The findings show that families in Latin America have to pay 60 percent of per-capita income for tertiary education per student per year compared with 19 percent in high-income countries. Living costs are significant, at 29 percent of gross domestic product per capita in Latin America (19 percent in high-income countries). Student assistance through grants and loans plays a marginal role in improving affordability. Moreover, the paper confirms previous findings of low access to tertiary education in the region. One policy implication of the findings is that Latin American governments could take steps to make tertiary education more affordable through student assistance.


Book
How Many More Infants Are Likely To Die in Africa As A Result of the Global Financial Crisis?
Authors: ---
Year: 2009 Publisher: Washington, D.C., The World Bank,

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Abstract

The human consequences of the current global financial crisis for the developing world are presumed to be severe yet few studies have quantified such impact. The authors estimate the additional number of infant deaths in sub-Saharan Africa likely due to the crisis and discuss possible mitigation strategies. They pool birth-level data as reported in female adult retrospective birth histories from all Demographic and Health Surveys collected in sub-Saharan Africa nations. This results in a data set of 639,000 births to 264,000 women in 30 countries. The authors use regression models with flexible controls for temporal trends to assess an infant's likelihood of death as a function of fluctuations in national income. They then apply this estimated likelihood to expected growth shortfalls as a result of the crisis. At current growth projections, their estimates suggest there will be 30,000 - 50,000 excess infant deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. Most of these additional deaths are likely to be poorer children (born to women in rural areas and lower education levels) and are overwhelmingly female. If the crisis continues to worsen the number of deaths may grow much larger, especially those to girls. Policies that protect the income of poor households and that maintain critical health services during times of economic contraction should be considered. Interventions targeted at female infants and young girls may be particularly beneficial.


Book
Do School Facilities Matter? : The Case of the Peruvian Social Fund (FONCODES)
Authors: ---
Year: 1999 Publisher: Washington, D.C., The World Bank,

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A revised version was published as The Allocation and Impact of Social Funds: Spending on School Infrastructure in Peru (with Christina Paxson). World Bank Economic Review 16 (2): 297-319, 2002. Education projects of the Peruvian Social Fund (FONCODES) have reached poor districts and, to the extent they live in those districts, poor households. FONCODES has had a positive effect on school attendance rates for young children, but not on the likelihood that children will be at an appropriate school level for their age. Since its creation in 1991, the Peruvian Social Fund (FONCODES) has spent about USD 570 million funding microprojects throughout Peru. Many of these projects have involved building and renovating school facilities. Paxson and Schady analyze the targeting and impact of FONCODES investments in the education sector, using data from FONCODES, Peru's 1993 population census, Peru's 1994 and 1995 Living Standards Measurement Surveys, and a 1996 household survey conducted by the Peruvian Statistical Institute. They present their results based on various descriptive and econometric techniques, including nonparametric regressions, differences-in-differences, and instrumental variables estimators. They show that FONCODES projects in the education sector have reached poor districts and, to the extent they live in those districts, poor households. FONCODES has had a positive effect on school attendance rates for young children, but not on the likelihood that children will be at an appropriate school level for their age. Among other recommendations, they suggest that FONCODES consider random assignment of some education projects for a subsample of the population, to test the robustness of the study's assumptions and results. Lack of disaggregated data on such measures as the time children spend in school, pupil-teacher ratios, and scholastic achievement precluded analysis of the impact of FONCODES education projects on school quality. Collecting such data, and understanding how improvements in school infrastructure interact with other school-level changes to produce more learning, should be a research priority. This paper - a product of the Poverty Division, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network - is part of a larger effort in the network to understand the functioning and impact of social funds.


Book
The (Positive) Effect of Macroeconomic Crises on the Schooling and Employment Decisions of Children in a Middle-Income Country
Author:
Year: 2002 Publisher: Washington, D.C., The World Bank,

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Under some conditions, macroeconomic crises can have a positive effect on the accumulation of human capital because they reduce the opportunity cost of schooling. This has profound implications for the design of appropriate social protection policies. The impact of macroeconomic crises on parents' investments in the human capital of their children is a widely contested issue. Schady analyzes the effects of the profound macroeconomic crisis in Peru in 1988-92 on the schooling and employment decisions made by urban school-age children. He arrives at two basic findings: First, the crisis had no effect on the attendance rates of school-age children. But the share of children who were both employed and in school fell significantly during the crisis; Second, mean educational attainment was significantly higher for children who were exposed to the crisis than for those who were not. Schady argues that these findings may be related: children who are not employed have more time available and may therefore put more effort into school. He concludes with a discussion of the implications of his findings for the design of appropriate social protection policies. This paper-a product of the Poverty Sector Unit, Latin America and the Caribbean Region-is part of a larger effort in the region to understand the effects of macroeconomic crises on households, and to design appropriate policies to mitigate their costs.

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