Free Education Policy Research Articles

Universal Education and Its Impact on Child and Adult Labour Markets: A Note

The objective of this paper is to re-examine the impact of universal education policy on the incidence of child labour and on the adult unemployment in a job-search model. The paper assumes the double role played by the universal education programme. It raises the number of school going children on the one hand and it affects the potential supply of child labour on the other hand. It has been found that govt’s free education policy for the rural sector only, for the urban sector only and for the both of the two sectors lowers the incidence of child labour and accentuates the problem of adult urban unemployment.

Incidence of Child Labour, Free Education Policy and Trade Liberalization in a Developing Economy

The paper analyzes the implications of a subsidy policy on education and different liberalized trade and investment policies on the incidence of child labour in a general equilibrium framework with endogenous determination of family size and enrollment of children to schools from each poor working family. It shows that these policies, if undertaken concurrently, may produce mutually contradictory effects, thereby producing little or no impact on the incidence of child labour. The paper provides a theoretical answer as to why the incidence of child labour has not significantly declined in the developing economies in spite of economic development and globalization.

Process and Product Innovation: Complementarity in a Vertically Differentiated Monopoly with Discrete Consumer Types

The publisher wishes to draw attention to errors in the following articles: 1. Bandyopadhyay S. and R. Acharyya (2004) “Process and product innovation: complementarity in a vertically differentiated monopoly with discrete consumer types”, The Japanese Economic Review, Vol. 55(2), pp. 175–200. The Acknowledgements should read as follows: We are grateful to two anonymous referees for their comments that have led to substantial improvement in the quality of the paper. We also thank Akira Okada, Co-Editor and the Associated Editor in-charge at the time of acceptance, for encouraging us to revise the paper. Earlier versions of the paper were presented at the 2001 Far Eastern Meeting of the Econometric Society held at Kobe University, Japan, in 2001, and at the Winter School in Quantities Economics at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, in January 2001. Thanks are due to Vincenzo Denicolo, Tarun Kabiraj, and Paul Klemperer for their comments and suggestions. The usual disclaimer applies, however. 2. Chaudhuri S. and M. R. Gupta (2004) “Child labour and trade liberalization”, The Japanese Economic Review, Vol. 55(2), pp. 201–211. The Acknowledgements should read as follows: This is a revised version of the paper entitled “Incidence of Child Labour, Free Education Policy and Trade Liberalization in a Developing Economy” by Sarbajit Chaudhuri. The authors are highly indebted to an anonymous referee of this Journal for his / her interesting comments on the earlier version of the paper. Constructive comments from Professor Sajal Lahiri are also gratefully acknowledged. However, the usual disclaimer applies. The publisher apologises for the errors and any inconvenience they may have caused.

Alcohol, substance and drug use among urban slum adolescents in Nairobi, Kenya

Alcohol, substance and drug use among urban slum adolescents is not only a risky behavior in the era of HIV/AIDS but also a potential security threat to a growing city. Based on the Nairobi Urban Slum Survey, adolescent males are more than 20 times more likely to engage in drugs, and 5 times more likely to consume alcohol than girls. In addition, being out-of-school increases the risk of alcohol and drug abuse. There is a gender dimension to this; societal expectation, division of labor, and nature of upbringing is different for males and females. While the government policy of free primary education is likely to reduce the alcohol and drug incidence, gender targeted interventions, providing alternatives for both boys and girls, would be equally essential.

Free-education in Sri Lanka. Does it eliminate the family effect?

Using the human capital theory we modelled and estimated the school enrolment and the length of schooling decisions of Sri Lankans. Our results show a very clear positive association between family background and the education decision. Children of affluent families seem to derive more benefits from the free education policy. In particular, mother's education and parents' income have a strong effect on the education decision.

Free Education Policy and Trade Liberalization: Consequences on Child and Adult Labour Markets in a Small Open Economy

The paper purports to examine the implications of a free education policy and trade liberalization on the child and adult labour markets in the set-up of a Harris-Todaro type general equilibrium model. It has been found that a hike in the education subsidy or an inflow of foreign capital may produce counterproductive results on the supply of child labour in the urban area. Moreover, these policies may raise the level of urban unemployment of adult labour even when two types of labour are not substitutes to each other. The average income of the urban poor families may also decrease as a consequence.

Education Subsidy, Trade Liberalization and Foreign Capital Inflow: Impact on Supply of Child Labour and Unemployment of Adult Labour in a Small Open Economy

The paper builds up a Harris-Todaro type general equilibrium model to examine the implications of a free education policy and liberalized trade policies on the child labour market. It shows that an increase in the subsidy on education and/or inflow of foreign capital may produce counterproductive effects on the supply of child labour in the urban sector. These policies are likely to produce adverse effects on urban unemployment of adult labour even if two types of labour are not substitutes.

RESISTANCE TOWARDS THE LANGUAGE OF GLOBALISATION - THE CASE OF SRI LANKA

This paper relates the contemporary educational reforms in Sri Lanka to the processes of globalisation. The international monetary organisations such as the IMF and the World Bank and the regional organisations like the Asian Development Bank (ADB) play a dominant role in influencing the debt-receiving countries when it comes to their educational practice. The intensity of the influence of these organisations can vary depending on the existing educational policy of the aid receiving countries. This paper, after a brief introduction on globalisation, examines its effects on the education policy in Sri Lanka with a special emphasis on the current language policy. Equity in education is usually advocated at primary level based on the universal primary education concept so highly upheld by the World Bank. However, the present high human development indicators are undoubtedly due to Sri Lanka's free education policy in native languages. The paper concludes stressing the importance to retain the national education policy as a means of empowerment and liberation of its masses and creating stronger ethnic harmony.

The Effects of Single-Sex Schooling on Achievement and Attitudes in Nigeria

The Effects of Single-Sex Schooling on Achievement and Attitudes in Nigeria

Participation in Schooling: Determinants and Learning Outcomes in Nepal

This paper examines the determinants of adult cognitive competencies and of child school participation in the Terai region of Nepal. Data on three generations from 795 rural farm households were analyzed. The results of the analysis are: 1) First generation (grandparent) landholdings, literacy and caste status were significant determinants of second generation "innate ability" as measured by the "Ravens Progressive Matrices" (RPM) test. 2) RPM was a significant determinant of second generation schooling. 3) Second generation schooling was a significant determinant of second generation literacy, numeracy, reading comprehension and attitudinal modernity. 4) Attitudinal modernity was a significant determinant of attitude toward school for all households, but not for the subset of households in villages for which school availability data had been obtained. 5) In these latter villages, there was no relationship between school availability and a positive attitude toward school. 6) Third generation child school participation was determined jointly by second generation landholdings, caste, schooling and numeracy, and attitudinal modernity, and the child's sex. 7) Girls were significantly less likely to have completed at least one year of school than were boys. 8) The presence of small children in the household only slightly decreased girls' chances to participate in school. 9) School availability had no tffect on child school participation.

Early Childhood Program for the Handicapped in France

France has a long-standing policy of free education for all citizens. In the past, however, the model for delivery of service to the handicapped was specialized institutional programs. Rapid changes have taken place in the last two decades in health and medical care, social programs, and education. Early intervention now begins with the compulsory screening of all infants at birth, nine months, and at two years. Problems remain, especially in the availability of adequate support and of services for the handicapped child. The approach to these is the organization and training of interdisciplinary teams which operate from "early medico-social activity centers" and whose aim is to provide a variety of treatments, educational programs, and support to the family by working within the home and the natural environment. Current emphases include augmented research, as well as modified training for all specialists involved.