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Microeconomic Approaches to Development: Schooling, Learning, and Growth

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  • Mark R. Rosenzweig

Abstract

Within the field of economic development over the past 15 years or so, particularly significant advances have been made in what can be loosely called micro-development, an area defined principally by the units that are examined, not by a particular methodological approach. The units may be individuals, households, networks, banks, government agencies and so on, as opposed to countries. Within this area, economists use a wide variety of empirical methods informed to different degrees by economic models, they use data from developed and developing countries, and some use no data at all, to shed light on development questions. The best of this work speaks to the major questions of development and even informs, if not provides the foundation for, macro models of development and growth. I will illustrate the variety of approaches to development issues that microeconomists have employed by focusing on studies that illuminate and quantify the major mechanisms posited by growth theorists who highlight the role of education in fostering growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark R. Rosenzweig, 2010. "Microeconomic Approaches to Development: Schooling, Learning, and Growth," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(3), pages 81-96, Summer.
  • Handle: RePEc:aea:jecper:v:24:y:2010:i:3:p:81-96
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/jep.24.3.81
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    1. Herrera, Santiago & Badr, Karim, 2011. "Why does the productivity of education vary across individuals in Egypt ? firm size, gender, and access to technology as sources of heterogeneity in returns to education," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5740, The World Bank.
    2. Robert Jensen, 2012. "Do Labor Market Opportunities Affect Young Women's Work and Family Decisions? Experimental Evidence from India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(2), pages 753-792.
    3. Maertens, Annemie, 2013. "Social Norms and Aspirations: Age of Marriage and Education in Rural India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 1-15.
    4. Etkes Haggay, 2012. "The Impact of Employment in Israel on the Palestinian Labor Force," Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 18(2), pages 1-36, August.
    5. Brooks, Karen & Zorya, Sergiy & Gautam, Amy & Goyal, Aparajita, 2013. "Agriculture as a sector of opportunity for young people in Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6473, The World Bank.
    6. Diego Azqueta Oyarzun & Guillermina Gavaldon, 2014. "The economic assessment of education: Social Efficiency or Social Reconstruction?," Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación volume 9, in: Adela García Aracil & Isabel Neira Gómez (ed.), Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación 9, edition 1, volume 9, chapter 51, pages 969-978, Asociación de Economía de la Educación.
    7. Schwalje, Wes, 2011. "A Conceptual Model of National Skills Formation for Knowledge-based Economic Development," MPRA Paper 30302, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Schwalje, Wes, 2011. "Knowledge-based Economic Development as a Unifying Vision in a Post-awakening Arab World," MPRA Paper 30305, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Tahirou Abdoulaye & Tesfamicheal Wossen & Bola Awotide, 2018. "Impacts of improved maize varieties in Nigeria: ex-post assessment of productivity and welfare outcomes," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(2), pages 369-379, April.
    10. Nerman, Måns & Owens, Trudy, 2010. "The Push Towards UPE and the Determinants of the Demand for Education in Tanzania," Working Papers in Economics 472, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics, revised 13 Mar 2012.
    11. Lim, Krisha & Wichmann, Bruno & Luckert, Martin, 2021. "Adaptation, spatial effects, and targeting: Evidence from Africa and Asia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    12. Charles Kenny, 2010. "Learning about Schools in Development," Working Papers id:3386, eSocialSciences.
    13. Luis Arturo Rosado & Germán Castaño Duque, 2015. "Revisión del estado del arte de la Relación entre educación y desarrollo económico," Revista de Economía del Caribe 14788, Universidad del Norte.
    14. Etkes, Haggay, 2011. "The impact of employment in Israel on the Palestinian labor force (2005–08)," MPRA Paper 34681, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Yamauchi, Futoshi, 2015. "Wage dynamics, turnover, and human capital : evidence from adolescent transition from school to work in the Philippines," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7184, The World Bank.
    16. Chiplunkar, Gaurav & Weaver, Jeffrey, 2023. "Marriage markets and the rise of dowry in India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    17. Serneels, Pieter & Beegle, Kathleen & Dillon, Andrew, 2017. "Do returns to education depend on how and whom you ask?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 5-19.
    18. Christoph Eder, 2014. "Displacement and education of the next generation: evidence from Bosnia and Herzegovina," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-24, December.
    19. Tesfamicheal Wossen & Thomas Berger & Salvatore Di Falco, 2015. "Social capital, risk preference and adoption of improved farm land management practices in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 46(1), pages 81-97, January.
    20. Maertens, Annemie & Chari, A.V., 2020. "What’s Your Child Worth? An Analysis of Expected Dowry Payments in Rural India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    21. Arusha Cooray & Sushanta Mallick, 2011. "What explains cross-country growth in South Asia? Female education and the growth effect of international openness," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 14511, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    22. Schwalje, Wes, 2012. "Rethinking How Establishment Skills Surveys Can More Effectively Identify Workforce Skills Gaps," MPRA Paper 37192, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    23. Kondylis, Florence & Mueller, Valerie, 2012. "Seeing is Believing? Evidence from a Demonstration Plot Experiment in Mozambique:," MSSP working papers 1, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

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