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Equity and Educational Performance

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  • Alejandra Mizala
  • Pilar Romaguera

Abstract

In this paper, we review the main issues under discussion in the field of economics of education, with a special focus on Latin America. We seek to organize the debate about educational policies by showing how these policies respond to different models based on different assumptions and hypotheses about how the educational system functions. Methodological and informational problems make it difficult to test the validity of different policies. This would explain the enormous number of studies in the field that conclude with conflicting policy prescriptions. We also use data from Chile to analyze the importance of the school in educational outcome and to explore the heterogeneous impacts of student and school characteristics on educational achievement. The results obtained allow us to conclude that the school plays a very important role in explaining educational achievement. We also find that low-income students stand to benefit the most from attending a private school. However, this conclusion is valid for a marginal analysis and does not necessarily apply to a massive reallocation of students among schools.

Suggested Citation

  • Alejandra Mizala & Pilar Romaguera, 2002. "Equity and Educational Performance," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Spring 20), pages 219-274, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:col:000425:008692
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    Cited by:

    1. Ludger Wossmann, 2010. "Families, schools and primary-school learning: evidence for Argentina and Colombia in an international perspective," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(21), pages 2645-2665.
    2. Juan-Pedro GARCES-VOISENAT, 2016. "Equality of Opportunity in Education: A Case Study of Chile and Norway," Journal of Economics and Political Economy, KSP Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 142-150, March.
    3. Alejandra Mizala & Pilar Romaguera, 2003. "Rendimiento Escolar y Premios por Desempeño. La Experiencia Latinoamericana (Scholastic performance and performance awards)," Documentos de Trabajo 157, Centro de Economía Aplicada, Universidad de Chile.
    4. Drago, José Luis & Paredes, Ricardo D., 2011. "The quality gap in Chile's education system," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), August.
    5. Guillermo E. Perry & Omar S. Arias & J. Humberto López & William F. Maloney & Luis Servén, 2006. "Poverty Reduction and Growth : Virtuous and Vicious Circles," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6997.
    6. Fernández, Andrés & Martínez, Rodrigo, 2010. "Impacto social y económico del analfabetismo: modelo de análisis y estudio piloto," Documentos de Proyectos 3747, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    7. Laurie F. DeRose & Gloria Huarcaya & Andrés Salazar-Arango & Marcos Agurto & Paúl Corcuera & Marga Gonzalvo-Cirac & Claudia Tarud, 2017. "Children’s Living Arrangements and On-time Progression Through School in Latin America and the Caribbean," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 184-203, June.
    8. Bellei, Cristián, 2009. "Does lengthening the school day increase students' academic achievement? Results from a natural experiment in Chile," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 629-640, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Decentralization; evaluation; education quality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H40 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - General
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education
    • H70 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - General
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General

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