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Some Simple Analytics of School Quality

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  • Eric A. Hanushek

Abstract

Most empirical analyses of human capital have concentrated solely on the quantity of schooling attained by individuals, ignoring quality differences. This focus contrasts sharply with policy considerations that almost exclusively consider school quality issues. This paper presents basic evidence about the impact of school quality on individual earnings and on economic growth. The calculations emphasize how benefits relate to both the magnitude and the speed of quality improvements. It then considers alternative school reform policies focused on improvements in teacher quality, identifying how much change is required. Finally, teacher bonus policies are put into the context of potential benefits.

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  • Eric A. Hanushek, 2004. "Some Simple Analytics of School Quality," NBER Working Papers 10229, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:10229
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    Cited by:

    1. Dudovitz, R.N. & Biely, C. & Barnert, E.S. & Coker, T.R. & Guerrero, A.D. & Jackson, N. & Schickedanz, A. & Szilagyi, P.G. & Iyer, S. & Chung, P.J., 2021. "Association between school racial/ethnic composition during adolescence and adult health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    2. Cabrera Hernández, Francisco-Javier, 2016. "Essays on the impact evaluation of education policies in Mexico," Economics PhD Theses 0316, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    3. Eric Hanushek, 2004. "United States lessons about school accountability," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 2(4), pages 27-32, 01.
    4. Antonio Caparrós Ruiz (ed.), 2011. "Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación," E-books Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación, Asociación de Economía de la Educación, edition 1, volume 6, number 06.
    5. Stevenson, Adam, 2013. "The male–female gap in post-baccalaureate school quality," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 153-165.
    6. Yusuf, Shahid, 2007. "From creativity to innovation," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4262, The World Bank.
    7. Antonio Ciccone & Elias Papaioannou, 2009. "Human Capital, the Structure of Production, and Growth," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(1), pages 66-82, February.
    8. Fullard, Joshua, 2021. "Relative wages and pupil performance, evidence from TIMSS," ISER Working Paper Series 2021-07, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    9. Francisco Cabrera-Hernandez, 2015. "Does lengthening the school day increase students’ academic achievement? Evidence from a natural experiment," Working Paper Series 7415, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    10. repec:ces:ifodic:v:2:y:2004:i:4:p:14567717 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Caselli, Francesco, 2005. "Accounting for Cross-Country Income Differences," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 9, pages 679-741, Elsevier.
    12. Eric Hanushek, 2004. "United States lessons about school accountability," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 2(04), pages 27-32, January.
    13. Rossana Patrón, 2009. "Can more education be bad? Some simple analytics on financing education," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 1709, Department of Economics - dECON.
    14. Rossana Patrón, 2006. "Enhancing the Public Provision of Education: The Economics of Education Reform in Developing Countries," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 1106, Department of Economics - dECON.
    15. Gianni De Fraja, 2004. "Education and Redistribution," Rivista di Politica Economica, SIPI Spa, vol. 94(3), pages 3-44, May-June.
    16. Caselli, Francesco, 2005. "Accounting for cross-country income differences," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 3567, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    17. David N. Figlio & E. Maurice Lucas, 2004. "High Grading Standards Improve Student Performance," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 2(4), pages 21-26, 01.
    18. Rossana Patron, 2008. "Enhancing the public provision of education: the economics of education reform in developing countries," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 9(26), pages 1-8.
    19. Dudovitz, Rebecca N. & Nelson, Bergen B. & Coker, Tumaini R. & Biely, Christopher & Li, Ning & Wu, Lynne C. & Chung, Paul J., 2016. "Long-term health implications of school quality," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 1-7.
    20. Yusuf, Shahid, 2009. "From creativity to innovation," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 1-8.
    21. repec:ebl:ecbull:v:9:y:2008:i:26:p:1-8 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Eric A. Hanushek & Margaret E. Raymond, 2005. "Does school accountability lead to improved student performance?," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(2), pages 297-327.
    23. Servaas van der Berg & Megan Louw, 2007. "Lessons learnt from SACMEQII: South African student performance in regional context," Working Papers 16/2007, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    24. Eric A. Hanushek & Margaret E. Raymond, 2006. "School accountability and student performance," Regional Economic Development, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue Mar, pages 51-61.

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    JEL classification:

    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods

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