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Does School Quality Matter? Returns to Education and the Characteristics of Schools in South Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Anne Case

    (Princeton University)

  • Motohiro Yogo

    (Princeton University)

Abstract

The effect of school inputs on labor market outcomes is an important and controversial topic, both in the United States and in developing countries. A large literature about American schools has not settled debate on the issue. Card and Krueger (1992) estimate the effect of pupil/teacher ratios and teachers? salaries on the rate of return to education for men born between 1920 and 1950, observed in the 1980 census. Controlling for state of birth effects, state of residence effects, and differences in returns to education between regional labor markets, they find a large, negative and significant effect of pupil/teacher ratios on the rate of return to education. Hanushek et al. (1996) and Heckman et al. (1996) challenge aspects of the Card and Krueger analysis. Hanushek et al. notes that the level at which school characteristics are aggregated affects the estimation results, and claims that aggregation biases upward estimated school quality effects. Heckman et al., replicating the Card and Krueger results in the 1970, 1980, and 1990 censuses, makes clear the importance of allowing for non-linearities in the returns to education when estimating the impact of school resources, and of allowing for differences in the impact of school quality across labor markets. They find school quality effects are weak for those with exactly 12 years of schooling, and strong only for those who attend college. Card and Krueger (1996) present a thorough review and discussion of this literature, but debate on how to interpret the literature on American schools is far from settled.

Suggested Citation

  • Anne Case & Motohiro Yogo, 1999. "Does School Quality Matter? Returns to Education and the Characteristics of Schools in South Africa," Working Papers 219, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Research Program in Development Studies..
    • Handle: RePEc:pri:rpdevs:case_yogo_school_quality.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. repec:fth:prinin:357 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Hanushek, Eric A & Rivkin, Steven G & Taylor, Lori L, 1996. "Aggregation and the Estimated Effects of School Resources," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(4), pages 611-627, November.
    3. Anne Case & Angus Deaton, 1999. "School Inputs and Educational Outcomes in South Africa," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(3), pages 1047-1084.
    4. T. Paul Schultz & Germano Mwabu, 1998. "Wage Premia for Education and Location, By Gender and Race in South Africa," Working Papers 785, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
    5. Card, David & Krueger, Alan B, 1992. "Does School Quality Matter? Returns to Education and the Characteristics of Public Schools in the United States," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(1), pages 1-40, February.
    6. David Card & Alan Krueger, 1996. "Labor Market Effects of School Quality: Theory and Evidence," Working Papers 736, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    7. David Card & Alan B. Krueger, 1996. "Labor Market Effects of School Quality: Theory and Evidence," NBER Working Papers 5450, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Thomas, Duncan, 1996. "Education across Generations in South Africa," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(2), pages 330-334, May.
    9. Heckman, James & Layne-Farrar, Anne & Todd, Petra, 1996. "Human Capital Pricing Equations with an Application to Estimating the Effect of Schooling Quality on Earnings," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(4), pages 562-610, November.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    South Africa;

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General

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