IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/injoed/v50y2016icp74-89.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Disappointing returns to education in Ghana: A test of the robustness of OLS estimates using propensity score matching

Author

Listed:
  • Gundersen, Sara

Abstract

This paper uses propensity score matching to test the robustness of OLS returns to education estimates in Ghana, a country for which other researchers have found low returns to primary school. Matching provides a way to test for common support, which would fail when there are not enough similar non-educated individuals with whom to compare educated individuals. Matching also relaxes the typical linear functional form used in OLS estimates. Common support issues do not seem to bias OLS results, and matching estimates are not statistically different from OLS results, indicating that inflexible functional forms do not bias estimates. These results indicate that, at least in this application, OLS provides reasonable estimates of education returns.

Suggested Citation

  • Gundersen, Sara, 2016. "Disappointing returns to education in Ghana: A test of the robustness of OLS estimates using propensity score matching," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 74-89.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:50:y:2016:i:c:p:74-89
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2016.05.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059316300608
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2016.05.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kahyarara, Godius & Teal, Francis, 2008. "The Returns to Vocational Training and Academic Education: Evidence from Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 2223-2242, November.
    2. Antonio Trujillo & Jorge Portillo & John Vernon, 2005. "The Impact of Subsidized Health Insurance for the Poor: Evaluating the Colombian Experience Using Propensity Score Matching," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 5(3), pages 211-239, September.
    3. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Introduction to "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings"," NBER Chapters, in: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, pages 1-4, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Marco Caliendo & Sabine Kopeinig, 2008. "Some Practical Guidance For The Implementation Of Propensity Score Matching," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 31-72, February.
    5. Jalan, Jyotsna & Ravallion, Martin, 2003. "Estimating the Benefit Incidence of an Antipoverty Program by Propensity-Score Matching," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 21(1), pages 19-30, January.
    6. Huisman, Janine & Smits, Jeroen, 2009. "Effects of Household- and District-Level Factors on Primary School Enrollment in 30 Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 179-193, January.
    7. T. Paul Schultz, 2004. "Evidence of Returns to Schooling in Africa from Household Surveys: Monitoring and Restructuring the Market for Education," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 13(02), pages 95-148, December.
    8. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number minc74-1, March.
    9. Justin L. Tobias, 2003. "Are Returns to Schooling Concentrated Among the Most Able? A Semiparametric Analysis of the Ability–earnings Relationships," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 65(1), pages 1-29, February.
    10. Gérard Lassibille & Jee-Peng Tan, 2005. "The Returns to Education in Rwanda," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 14(1), pages 92-116, March.
    11. Augurzky, Boris & Schmidt, Christoph M., 2001. "The Propensity Score: A Means to An End," IZA Discussion Papers 271, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Simon Appleton, 2000. "Education and Health at the Household Level in Sub-Saharan Africa," CID Working Papers 33A, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    13. Ersado, Lire, 2005. "Child Labor and Schooling Decisions in Urban and Rural Areas: Comparative Evidence from Nepal, Peru, and Zimbabwe," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 455-480, March.
    14. Marcel Fafchamps & Mans Söderbom & Najy Benhassine, 2009. "Wage Gaps and Job Sorting in African Manufacturing," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 18(5), pages 824-868, November.
    15. Christopher Colclough & Geeta Kingdon & Harry Patrinos, 2010. "The Changing Pattern of Wage Returns to Education and its Implications," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 28(6), pages 733-747, November.
    16. Owusu, Victor & Abdulai, Awudu & Abdul-Rahman, Seini, 2011. "Non-farm work and food security among farm households in Northern Ghana," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 108-118, April.
    17. Gérard Lassibille & Jee-Peng Tan, 2005. "The Returns to Education in Rwanda," Post-Print halshs-00006413, HAL.
    18. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling and Earnings," NBER Chapters, in: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, pages 41-63, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Niels-Hugo Blunch & Claus C. Pörtner, 2011. "Literacy, Skills, and Welfare: Effects of Participation in Adult Literacy Programs," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 60(1), pages 17-66.
    20. James J. Heckman & Hidehiko Ichimura & Petra E. Todd, 1997. "Matching As An Econometric Evaluation Estimator: Evidence from Evaluating a Job Training Programme," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 64(4), pages 605-654.
    21. Black, Dan A. & Smith, J.A.Jeffrey A., 2004. "How robust is the evidence on the effects of college quality? Evidence from matching," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 121(1-2), pages 99-124.
    22. Lockwood Reynolds, C., 2012. "Where to attend? Estimating the effects of beginning college at a two-year institution," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 345-362.
    23. Thomas Hertz, 2003. "Upward Bias in the Estimated Returns to Education: Evidence from South Africa," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(4), pages 1354-1368, September.
    24. Måns Söderbom & Francis Teal & Anthony Wambugu & Godius Kahyarara, 2006. "The Dynamics of Returns to Education in Kenyan and Tanzanian Manufacturing," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 68(3), pages 261-288, June.
    25. Francis Teal & Godius Kahyarara, 2008. "The returns to vocational training and academic education: Evidence from Tanzania," Economics Series Working Papers WPS/2008-07, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    26. John DiNardo & Justin L. Tobias, 2001. "Nonparametric Density and Regression Estimation," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 11-28, Fall.
    27. Simon Appleton & John Hoddinott & John MacKinnon, 1996. "Education and health in sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 8(3), pages 307-339.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tillmann Heidelk, 2019. "The Returns to Education in the Context of a Natural Disaster: Evidence from the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti," Working Papers ECARES 2019-17, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    2. Zhang, Yixiang & Li, Juan & Tao, Wenwen, 2021. "Does energy efficiency affect appliance prices? Empirical analysis of air conditioners in China based on propensity score matching," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    3. Nunoo, Jacob & Taale, Francis & Sebu, Joshua & Adama, Adams Sorekuong Yakubu, 2023. "Influence of teacher absenteeism and school distance on cognitive skills in Ghana," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sam Jones & Thomas Pave Sohnesen & Neda Trifkovic, 2023. "Educational expansion and shifting private returns to education: Evidence from Mozambique," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(6), pages 1407-1428, August.
    2. Uwaifo Oyelere, Ruth, 2010. "Africa's education enigma? The Nigerian story," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 128-139, January.
    3. Tillmann Heidelk, 2019. "The Returns to Education in the Context of a Natural Disaster: Evidence from the 2010 Earthquake in Haiti," Working Papers ECARES 2019-17, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    4. Uwaifo, Ruth, 2006. "Africa's Education Enigma? The Nigerian story," 2006 Annual meeting, July 23-26, Long Beach, CA 21254, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    5. Girsberger, Esther Mirjam, 2017. "Migration, Education and Work Opportunities," IZA Discussion Papers 11028, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Benedikte Bjerge & Nina Torm & Neda Trifkovic, 2016. "Gender matters: Private sector training in Vietnamese SMEs," WIDER Working Paper Series 149, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    7. 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.
    8. Karina Mahirda & Heni Wahyuni, 2016. "Returning To General And Vocational High-Schools In Indonesia," Review of Economic and Business Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 18, pages 9-28, December.
    9. Oliver Morrissey & Susan Namirembe Kavuma & Richard Upward, 2015. "Private returns to education for wage-employees and the self-employed in Uganda," WIDER Working Paper Series 021, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    10. Henrik Hansen & S Kanayade & John Rand & Neda Trifkovic, 2021. "Workplace training in Myanmar: Determinants and wage returns," DERG working paper series 21-10, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. Development Economics Research Group (DERG).
    11. Grit Muehler & Michael Beckmann & Bernd Schauenberg, 2007. "The returns to continuous training in Germany: new evidence from propensity score matching estimators," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 1(3), pages 209-235, November.
    12. Teal, Francis, 2011. "The price of labour and understanding the causes of poverty," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(S1), pages 7-15.
    13. Kaiser, Ulrich & Malchow-Møller, Nikolaj, 2011. "Is self-employment really a bad experience?: The effects of previous self-employment on subsequent wage-employment wages," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 572-588, September.
    14. Susan Namirembe Kavuma & Oliver Morrissey & Richard Upward, 2015. "Private Returns to Education for Wage-employees and the Self-employed in Uganda," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2015-021, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    15. Abebe Shimeles & Audrey Verdier†Chouchane, 2016. "The Key Role of Education in Reducing Poverty in South Sudan," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 28(S2), pages 162-176, October.
    16. Mohd. Imran Khan & Pallavi Wats & Jannet Jacob Farida, 2023. "Gender Differences in Returns to Self-employment in India," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 66(1), pages 239-266, March.
    17. Justin L. Tobias & Mingliang Li, 2004. "Returns to Schooling and Bayesian Model Averaging: A Union of Two Literatures," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(2), pages 153-180, April.
    18. Benedikte Bjerge & Nina Torm & Neda Trifković, 2016. "Gender matters: Private sector training in Vietnamese SMEs," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-149, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    19. Todd Pugatch, 2014. "Safety valve or sinkhole? Vocational schooling in South Africa," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-31, December.
    20. Domadenik, Polona & Far?nik, Daša & Pastore, Francesco, 2013. "Horizontal Mismatch in the Labour Market of Graduates: The Role of Signalling," IZA Discussion Papers 7527, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:injoed:v:50:y:2016:i:c:p:74-89. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-educational-development .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.