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The Impact of School Quality on Earnings and Educational Returns

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  • Bedi, A.S.
  • Edwards, J.H.Y.

Abstract

The expansion of education has been widely adopted as a key element in the development strategies of low-income countries. While there is substantial evidence on the benefits of greater educational attainment for subsequent labor market earnings, empirical evidence on the role played by school quality is scarce. This paper combines household survey data with unique data on school quality, from Honduras, to study the importance of school quality as a determinant of earnings. Our objective measures of school quality capture teacher training, school infrastructure and school crowding. The results diaplay strong positive effects of school quality on earnings and on educational returns. These effects persist across a variety of model specifications.

Suggested Citation

  • Bedi, A.S. & Edwards, J.H.Y., 2001. "The Impact of School Quality on Earnings and Educational Returns," ISS Working Papers - General Series 338, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    • Handle: RePEc:ems:euriss:77886
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Boccanfuso, Dorothée & Larouche, Alexandre & Trandafir, Mircea, 2015. "Quality of Higher Education and the Labor Market in Developing Countries: Evidence from an Education Reform in Senegal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 412-424.
    2. Nadir Altinok & Abdurrahman Aydemir, 2015. "The Unfolding of Gender Gap in Education," Working Papers 934, Economic Research Forum, revised Aug 2015.
    3. Patrick Enu & Edmond Hagan & Eunice Ahouandjinou & Prudence Attah-Obeng, 2014. "Relationship between Education and Wage differentials in Ghana: A Case Study of Accra - a Suburb of greater Accra Region," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 4(1), pages 277-294, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    earnings; returns to education; school attainment; school quality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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