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What Explains Schooling Differences Across Countries?

Author

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  • Juan Carlos Cordoba

    (Iowa State University)

  • Marla Ripoll

    (University of Pittsburgh)

Abstract

This paper provides a theory that explains the cross-country distribution of average years of schooling, as well as the so called human capital premium puzzle. In our theory, credit frictions as well as differences in access to public education, fertility and mortality turn out to be the key reasons why schooling differs across countries. Differences in growth rates and in wages are second order.

Suggested Citation

  • Juan Carlos Cordoba & Marla Ripoll, 2011. "What Explains Schooling Differences Across Countries?," Working Papers 2011-028, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
  • Handle: RePEc:hka:wpaper:2011-028
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Rossi,Federico, 2018. "Human Capital and Macro-Economic Development : A Review of the Evidence," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8650, The World Bank.
    2. Lance Lochner & Alexander Monge-Naranjo, 2012. "Credit Constraints in Education," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 4(1), pages 225-256, July.
    3. Cordoba, Juan Carlos & Ripoll, Marla, 2012. "Barro-Becker with Credit Frictions," Staff General Research Papers Archive 35531, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    4. Ferreira, Pedro Cavalcanti & Delalibera, Bruno Ricardo, 2016. "Economic growth and complementarity between stages of human capital," FGV EPGE Economics Working Papers (Ensaios Economicos da EPGE) 779, EPGE Brazilian School of Economics and Finance - FGV EPGE (Brazil).
    5. Pavel Sevcik & Rui Castro, 2013. "Occupational Choice, Human Capital, and Financing Constraints," 2013 Meeting Papers 1321, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    6. van Hoorn, Andre, 2016. "The Cultural Roots of Human Capital Accumulation," MPRA Paper 80007, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Lutz Hendricks & Todd Schoellman, 2018. "Human Capital and Development Accounting: New Evidence from Wage Gains at Migration," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 133(2), pages 665-700.
    8. German Cubas & B. Ravikumar & Gustavo Ventura, 2016. "Talent, Labor Quality, and Economic Development," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 21, pages 160-181, July.
    9. Marco Di Maggio & Ankit Kalda & Vincent Yao, 2019. "Second Chance: Life without Student Debt," NBER Working Papers 25810, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Delalibera, Bruno Ricardo & Ferreira, Pedro Cavalcanti, 2019. "Early childhood education and economic growth," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 82-104.
    11. Rajashri Chakrabarti & Vyacheslav Fos & Andres Liberman & Constantine Yannelis, 2020. "Tuition, Debt, and Human Capital," Staff Reports 912, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    12. Diego Restuccia & Guillaume Vandenbroucke, 2014. "Explaining Educational Attainment across Countries and over Time," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 17(4), pages 824-841, October.
    13. Kong, Y.-C. & Ravikumar, B. & Vandenbroucke, G., 2018. "Explaining cross-cohort differences in life-cycle earnings," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 157-184.
    14. Anurag Banerjee & Parantap Basu & Elisa Keller, 2023. "Cross‐country disparities in skill premium and skill acquisition," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 61(1), pages 179-198, January.
    15. Égert, Balázs & Botev, Jarmila & Turner, David, 2020. "The contribution of human capital and its policies to per capita income in Europe and the OECD," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    16. Gradstein, Mark & Brückner, Markus, 2013. "Income and schooling," CEPR Discussion Papers 9365, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Jakob B. MADSEN & James B. ANG, 2014. "Finance-Led Growth in the OECD since the 19th century: How Does Financial Development Transmit To Growth?," Economic Growth Centre Working Paper Series 1408, Nanyang Technological University, School of Social Sciences, Economic Growth Centre.
    18. Liu, Xiying, 2015. "Optimal population and policy implications," ISU General Staff Papers 201501010800005546, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    19. van Hoorn, André, 2019. "Cultural determinants of human capital accumulation: Evidence from the European Social Survey," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 429-440.
    20. Diego Restuccia & Guillaume Vandenbroucke, 2014. "Explaining Educational Attainment across Countries and over Time," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 17(4), pages 824-841, October.
    21. Rodolfo E. Manuelli & Ananth Seshadri, 2014. "Human Capital and the Wealth of Nations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(9), pages 2736-2762, September.
    22. Jakob B. Madsen & Md. Rabiul Islam & Xueli Tang, 2020. "Was the post-1870 fertility transition a key contributor to growth in the West in the twentieth century?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 431-454, December.
    23. Ozsoz, Emre, 2014. "Exploitation or Empowerment? The Impact of Textile and Apparel Manufacturing on the Education of Women in Developing Countries," MPRA Paper 58125, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    24. Alexander Ugarov, 2019. "Talent Misallocation across Countries: Evidence from Educational Achievement Tests," 2019 Meeting Papers 1466, Society for Economic Dynamics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    human capital; per capita income differences; life expectancy; public education spending; life cycle model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance; Financial Aid
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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