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School Vouchers, Labor Markets and Vocational Education

Author

Listed:
  • Eric Bettinger
  • Michael Kremer
  • Maurice Kugler
  • Carlos Medina

    (Banco de la República de Colombia)

  • Christian Posso

    (Banco de la República de Colombia)

  • Juan E. Saavedra

Abstract

We provide evidence on the long-run impact of vouchers for private secondary schools, evidence collected twenty years after students applied for the vouchers. Prior to the voucher lottery, students applied to either an academic or vocational secondary school, an important mediating factor in the vouchers’ impacts. We find strong tertiary education and labor market effects for those students who applied to vocational schools with almost no impact on those who applied to academic schools. The labor market gains for vocational students are strongest at the top of the distribution and null at the bottom of the distribution. We find additional longrun impacts on consumption, and teen-age fertility. The expected net present value of benefits to participants and to taxpayers was large and positive implying that the program was welfare improving unless net externalities were large and negative. **** RESUMEN: En este trabajo estudiamos los impactos de largo plazo del programa de becas PACES para educación secundaria privada, para alumnos de bajos recursos, utilizando información recolectada veinte años después de que los estudiantes aplicaran a la beca. Previo a la asignación aleatoria, los estudiantes debían escoger entre un colegio académico o vocacional, factor importante en el impacto de las becas. Encontramos fuertes efectos sobre la educación superior y el mercado laboral para aquellos estudiantes que aplicaron a colegios vocacionales y casi ningún impacto sobre aquellos que aplicaron a un colegio académico. Las ganancias laborales de los estudiantes vocacionales son más fuertes en la parte superior de la distribución y nulas en la parte inferior. Se encuentran impactos adicionales de largo plazo sobre consumo y embarazo adolescente. El valor presente neto esperado de los beneficios de los participantes y los contribuyentes fue positivo y de gran magnitud, lo que significaría mejoras sustancialmente en el bienestar social, a menos de que existieran externalidades netas grandes y negativas.

Suggested Citation

  • Eric Bettinger & Michael Kremer & Maurice Kugler & Carlos Medina & Christian Posso & Juan E. Saavedra, 2019. "School Vouchers, Labor Markets and Vocational Education," Borradores de Economia 1087, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdr:borrec:1087
    DOI: 10.32468/be.1087
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    School choice; scholarships; formal earnings; access to higher education; access to consumer credit; fertility; elección de colegio; becas; ingresos formales; acceso a educación superior; acceso a crédito de consumo; fertilidad.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E51 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Money Supply; Credit; Money Multipliers
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance; Financial Aid
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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