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The Promise of Administrative Data in Education Research

Author

Listed:
  • David Figlio

    (Institute for Policy Research Northwestern University and NBER Evanston, IL 60208)

  • Krzysztof Karbownik

    (Institute for Policy Research Northwestern University Evanston, IL 60208)

  • Kjell Salvanes

    (Norwegian School of Economics Bergen, Norway)

Abstract

Thanks to extraordinary and exponential improvements in data storage and computing capacities, it is now possible to collect, manage, and analyze data in magnitudes and in manners that would have been inconceivable just a short time ago. As the world has developed this remarkable capacity to store and analyze data, so have the world's governments developed large-scale, comprehensive datafiles on tax programs, workforce information, benefit programs, health, and education. Although these data are collected for purely administrative purposes, they represent remarkable new opportunities for expanding our knowledge. We describe some of the benefits and challenges associated with the use of administrative data in education research.

Suggested Citation

  • David Figlio & Krzysztof Karbownik & Kjell Salvanes, 2017. "The Promise of Administrative Data in Education Research," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 12(2), pages 129-136, Spring.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:edfpol:v:12:y:2017:i:2:p:129-136
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    File URL: http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/EDFP_a_00229
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Liran Einav & Jonathan Levin, 2014. "The Data Revolution and Economic Analysis," Innovation Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 14(1), pages 1-24.
    2. Ingvild Almås & Alexander W. Cappelen & Kjell G. Salvanes & Erik Ø. Sørensen & Bertil Tungodden, 2016. "Willingness to Compete: Family Matters," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(8), pages 2149-2162, August.
    3. Raj Chetty & Nathaniel Hendren & Patrick Kline & Emmanuel Saez, 2014. "Where is the land of Opportunity? The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(4), pages 1553-1623.
    4. Knut R¯ed & Oddbj¯rn Raaum, 2003. "Administrative registers - Unexplored reservoirs of Scientific Knowledge?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(488), pages 258-281, June.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Gallegos, Sebastian & Roseth, Benjamin & Cuesta, Ana & Sánchez, Mario, 2023. "Increasing the take-up of public health services: An at-scale experiment on digital government," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).

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