IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/jdevst/v33y1996i2p230-247.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

General versus vocational secondary education in developing countries: A review of the rates of return evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Paul Bennell

Abstract

This article questions the prevailing orthodoxy concerning the social rates of return to general and vocational secondary education in developing countries. A critical examination of all the rates of return studies that have been used to establish this orthodoxy reveals that for the large majority of them, social RORs to general secondary education are not significantly higher than for specialist secondary vocational education.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Bennell, 1996. "General versus vocational secondary education in developing countries: A review of the rates of return evidence," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(2), pages 230-247.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:33:y:1996:i:2:p:230-247
    DOI: 10.1080/00220389608422464
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220389608422464
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/00220389608422464?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. Psacharopoulos, George, 1994. "Returns to investment in education: A global update," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 22(9), pages 1325-1343, September.
    2. Psacharopoulos, George & Ying Chu Ng, 1992. "Earnings and education in Latin America : assessing priorities for schooling investments," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1056, The World Bank.
    3. Arriagada, Ana-Maria & Ziderman, Adrian, 1992. "Vocational secondary schooling, occupational choice, and earnings in Brazil," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1037, The World Bank.
    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. Ofer Malamud & Cristian Pop-Eleches, 2008. "General Education vs. Vocational Training: Evidence from an Economy in Transition," NBER Working Papers 14155, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. 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.
    3. Cantoni, Davide & Yuchtman, Noam, 2013. "The political economy of educational content and development: Lessons from history," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 233-244.
    4. Fatma El-Hamidi, 2006. "General or Vocational Schooling? Evidence on School Choice, Returns, and 'Sheepskin' Effects from Egypt 1998," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(2), pages 157-176.
    5. Hawley, Joshua D., 2004. "Changing returns to education in times of prosperity and crisis, Thailand 1985-1998," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 273-286, June.
    6. World Bank, 2001. "Thailand - Secondary Education for Employment (Vol. 2 of 2) : Background Papers," World Bank Publications - Reports 15494, The World Bank Group.
    7. Fatma El-Hamidi, 2004. "General or Vocational? Evidence on School Choice, Returns, and “Sheep Skin” Effects from Egypt 1998," Working Papers 0406, Economic Research Forum, revised 01 Aug 2004.
    8. Dario Pozzoli, 2007. "High Schools and Labour Market Outcomes: Italian Graduates," Giornale degli Economisti, GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University, vol. 66(2), pages 247-294, July.
    9. Huzeyfe Torun & Semih Tumen, 2019. "Do vocational high school graduates have better employment outcomes than general high school graduates?," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 40(8), pages 1364-1388, August.
    10. Francis Teal & Godius Kahyarara, 2006. "To train or to educate? Evidence from Tanzania," Economics Series Working Papers GPRG-WPS-051, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    11. Chris Sakellariou, 2005. "Profitability of Vocational vs. Formal Education for Men and Women in Singapore Using Quantile Regressions," Economic Growth Centre Working Paper Series 0502, Nanyang Technological University, School of Social Sciences, Economic Growth Centre.
    12. 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.
    13. Dearden, Lorraine, et al, 2002. "The Returns to Academic and Vocational Qualifications in Britain," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(3), pages 249-274, July.
    14. Mona Said & Fatma El-Hamidi, 2008. "Taking Technical Education Seriously in MENA: Determinants, Labor Market Implications and Policy Lessons," Working Papers 450, Economic Research Forum, revised 09 Jan 2008.
    15. Blanco, Laura Cristina, 2019. "Skill mismatch in the Costa Rican labor market," Revista de Ciencias Económicas, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Económicas, Universidad de Costa Rica, vol. 37(2), December.
    16. Assaad, Ragui & Krafft, Caroline, 2015. "Is free basic education in Egypt a reality or a myth?," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 16-30.
    17. Kirui, Oliver K. & Kozicka, Marta, 2018. "Vocational Education and Training for Farmers and Other Actors in the Agri-Food Value Chain in Africa," Working Papers 274536, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    18. Yana van der Meulen Rodgers & Joseph Zveglich & Laura Wherry, 2006. "Gender Differences In Vocational School Training And Earnings Premiums In Taiwan," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(4), pages 527-560.
    19. David Newhouse & Daniel Suryadarma, 2011. "The Value of Vocational Education: High School Type and Labor Market Outcomes in Indonesia," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank Group, vol. 25(2), pages 296-322, May.
    20. 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.
    21. Alexandra Semrad, 2015. "Modern secondary education and economic performance: the introduction of the Gewerbeschule and Realschule in nineteenth-century Bavaria," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 68(4), pages 1306-1338, November.
    22. Uwaifo Oyelere, Ruth, 2008. "Understanding Low Average Returns to Education in Africa: The Role of Heterogeneity across Education Levels and the Importance of Political and Economic Reforms," IZA Discussion Papers 3766, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    23. Seema Sangita, 2021. "Higher Education, Vocational Training and Performance of Firms," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 15(1), pages 122-148, February.
    24. Zilic, Ivan, 2018. "General versus vocational education: Lessons from a quasi-experiment in Croatia," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1-11.
    25. Eichhorst, Werner & Rodríguez-Planas, Núria & Schmidl, Ricarda & Zimmermann, Klaus F., 2012. "A Roadmap to Vocational Education and Training Systems Around the World," IZA Discussion Papers 7110, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    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. Mona Said & Fatma El-Hamidi, 2008. "Taking Technical Education Seriously in MENA: Determinants, Labor Market Implications and Policy Lessons," Working Papers 450, Economic Research Forum, revised 09 Jan 2008.
    2. Hernández, Gustavo Adolfo, 2011. "¿Cuán rentable es la educación superior en Colombia?," Revista Lecturas de Economía, Universidad de Antioquia, CIE, February.
    3. D. Lederman & W.F. Maloney & J. Messina, 2011. "The Fall of Wage Flexibility," World Bank Publications - Reports 23575, The World Bank Group.
    4. Funkhouser, Edward, 1998. "Changes in the returns to education in Costa Rica," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 289-317.
    5. Fatma El-Hamidi, 2004. "General or Vocational? Evidence on School Choice, Returns, and “Sheep Skin” Effects from Egypt 1998," Working Papers 0406, Economic Research Forum, revised 01 Aug 2004.
    6. Ruth A. Judson, "undated". "Do Low Human Capital Coefficients Make Sense? A Puzzle and Some Answers," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 1996-13, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.), revised 04 Dec 2019.
    7. Funkhouser, Edward, 1998. "The importance of firm wage differentials in explaining hourly earnings variation in the large-scale sector of Guatemala," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(1), pages 115-131, February.
    8. World Bank, 2004. "Poverty in Guatemala," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 15066, December.
    9. Lachler, Ulrich, 1998. "Education and earnings inequality in Mexico," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1949, The World Bank.
    10. Crouch, Luis A., 1996. "Public education equity and efficiency in South Africa: Lessons for other countries," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 125-137, April.
    11. Ruth A. Judson, 1996. "Do low human capital coefficients make sense? A puzzle and some answers," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 96-13, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    12. Harold Alderman & John Hoddinott & Bill Kinsey, 2006. "Long term consequences of early childhood malnutrition," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 58(3), pages 450-474, July.
    13. Paolo Epifani & Gino Gancia, 2008. "The Skill Bias of World Trade," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(530), pages 927-960, July.
    14. Cécile Couharde & Rémi Generoso, 2015. "Hydro-climatic thresholds and economic growth reversals in developing countries: an empirical investigation," Working Papers hal-04141392, HAL.
    15. Cécile Couharde & Rémi Generoso, 2015. "Hydro-climatic thresholds and economic growth reversals in developing countries: an empirical investigation," EconomiX Working Papers 2015-26, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    16. Cem Ertur & Antonio Musolesi, 2017. "Weak and Strong Cross‐Sectional Dependence: A Panel Data Analysis of International Technology Diffusion," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(3), pages 477-503, April.
    17. Campos, Nauro F. & Jolliffe, Dean, 2003. "After, before and during: returns to education in Hungary (1986-1998)," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 377-390, December.
    18. Bethencourt, Carlos & Perera-Tallo, Fernando, 2020. "Human Capital, Economic Growth, and Public Expenditure," ADBI Working Papers 1066, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    19. repec:dau:papers:123456789/4924 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Sodiq Arogundade & Mduduzi Biyase & Hinaunye Eita, 2021. "Foreign Direct Investment and Inclusive Human Development in Sub-Saharan African Countries:Does local Economic Conditions Matter?," Economic Development and Well-being Research Group Working Paper Series edwrg-01-2021, University of Johannesburg, College of Business and Economics, revised 2021.
    21. Qian, Nancy & Lagakos, David & Moll, Benjamin & Porzio, Tommaso, 2012. "Experience Matters: Human Capital and Development Accounting," CEPR Discussion Papers 9253, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:taf:jdevst:v:33:y:1996:i:2:p:230-247. 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/FJDS20 .

    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.