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Explaining Educational Attainment across Countries and over Time

Author

Listed:
  • Guillaume Vandenbroucke

    (University of Iowa)

  • Diego Restuccia

    (University of Toronto)

Abstract

Consider the following facts. In 1950 rich countries attained an average of 8.1 years of schooling whereas poor countries attained 1.3 years --a 6-fold difference. By 2005, the difference in schooling declined to 2-fold even though the per-capita income gap did not decrease. What explains educational attainment across countries and their evolution over time? We develop a model of human capital accumulation to quantitatively assess the importance of productivity, life expectancy, and growth in explaining educational attainment across countries and over time. Calibrating the parameters of the model to reproduce historical data in the United States, we find that the model accounts for 86 percent of the difference in schooling levels between rich and poor countries in 1950 and 80 percent of the increase in schooling over time in poor countries. The model generates a faster increase in schooling in poor relative to rich economies even if their income gap does not decrease. These results have important implications for educational policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Guillaume Vandenbroucke & Diego Restuccia, 2011. "Explaining Educational Attainment across Countries and over Time," 2011 Meeting Papers 315, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    • Handle: RePEc:red:sed011:315
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    JEL classification:

    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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