Public Investment In Education Research Articles

Human Capital Development and Sustainable Development: Evidence from Nigeria

Abstract The contributions of human capital development in achieving the sustainable development cannot be overemphasized in any economy, this is because investment in education and health has been argued as the strategic impetus for improving the quality of human resources. Against this backdrop, this study investigates the impact of human capital development on the sustainable development goal one (1) – poverty reduction. The study utilizes the Nigerian data combining Johansen Cointegration test, Granger causality test and Fully Modified Least Squares to establish how public investments in both education and health affect poverty reduction in the country between 1981 and 2019. Originating from the findings of this study, both government expenditure on health and capital formation Granger caused poverty reduction in Nigeria. This is a vital signal that human capital development in the form of investment in health of human resources is an important condition for the achievement of the sustainable development goal one (1) – poverty eradication in Nigeria. Similarly, all the selected components of human capital development have positive contributions to poverty reduction in Nigeria. However, the contributions of health expenditures and capital formation are statistically significant. This implies that health expenditures and capital formation have a trickle-down effect on poverty reduction in Nigeria. Therefore, this study recommends the following: any time the Nigerian policymakers want to achieve the sustainable development goal one (1) – poverty reduction, the Nigerian budgetary allocations to education and health sectors should be in tandem with the global benchmark; this would ensure material and human resources that could drive the country towards the sustainable development. The enhancement of educational and health facilities by the policymakers would also bring about improvement in the living standard of the Nigerians.

Student debt and default: The role of for-profit colleges

For-profit providers have become an important fixture of US higher education markets. Students who attend for-profit institutions take on more educational debt and are more likely to default on their student loans than those attending similarly-selective public schools. Because for-profits tend to serve students from more disadvantaged backgrounds, it is important to isolate the causal effect of for-profit enrollment on student debt and repayment outcomes as well as the educational and labor market mechanisms that drive any such effects. We approach this problem using a novel instrument combined with comprehensive institution-level data on student debt, default, educational attainment, and labor market outcomes. Our instrument leverages the interaction between changes in the demand for college due to labor demand shocks and the baseline supply of for-profit schools. We compare how enrollment and subsequent outcomes change across areas that experience similar labor demand shocks but that have different latent supply of for-profit institutions. The first-stage estimates show that students are much more likely to enroll in a for-profit institution for a given labor demand change when there is a higher supply of such schools in the base period. Among four-year students, for-profit enrollment leads to more loans, higher loan amounts, an increased likelihood of borrowing, and an increased risk of default. Two-year for-profit students also take out more loans, originate more student debt, and have higher default rates. We present evidence that these debt and default outcomes are driven by higher for-profit tuition and a negative effect of for-profit enrollment on labor market outcomes. Our results point to high costs and low returns to for-profit enrollment that generate worse student debt and repayment outcomes. These findings have important implications for public investments in higher education as well as for how students make postsecondary choices.

The Persistent Effect of Violent Trauma on Urban Communities 25 Years After Tupac Shakur's Murder.

The Persistent Effect of Violent Trauma on Urban Communities 25 Years After Tupac Shakur's Murder.

Public Investments and Class Gaps in Parents' Developmental Expenditures.

Families and governments are the primary sources of investment in children, providing access to basic resources and other developmental opportunities. Recent research identifies significant class gaps in parental investments that contribute to high levels of inequality by family income and education. State-level public investments in children and families have the potential to reduce class inequality in children's developmental environments by affecting parents' behavior. Using newly assembled administrative data from 1998-2014, linked to household-level data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey, we examine how public sector investment in income support, health and education is associated with the private expenditures of low and high-SES parents on developmental items for children. Are class gaps in parental investments in children narrower in contexts of higher public investment for children and families? We find that more generous public spending for children and families is associated with significantly narrower class gaps in private parental investments. Moreover, we find that equalization is driven by bottom up increases in low-SES households' developmental spending in response to the progressive state investments of income support and health, and by top down decreases in high-SES households' developmental spending in response to the universal state investment of public education.

Agent-based modeling of social and economic impacts of migration under the government regulated employment

This article presents an approach to modelling the socio-economic impacts of migration using an agent-based model (ABM) of interactions between migrants and natives. The model also accounts for a regulatory function of government which is the centralized creation of new workplaces that differ in the level of ‘technological return’ (i.e. the labour productivity that depends on the sectoral belonging of the formed workplaces). The proposed approach is based on the previously developed model of interactions between migrants and native individuals. It is focused on studying the socio-economic impacts of migration in the system with a more complex regulatory function of the government, which creates low-technological and high-technological workplaces that are attractive for migrants and natives, respectively. The agent-government has two possible strategies of workplace creation: cluster-based workplace creation in areas with high concentration of migrants and natives and creation of uniform workplaces aimed at increasing multi-particle interactions between agents of different types, and reducing the level of population segregation. This study also investigates the processes of assimilation, which are subject to the level of segregation of the studied communities, public investment in education and integration, etc. The proposed model also considers the influence of various control parameters, in particular, the influence of the agents’ tolerance level on their location choice in a boundary neighbourhood, the influence of the agents’ education level on the job search area dimension, and other important characteristics reflecting the behavioural features of members of the studied communities. Socio-economic impacts of migration are studied under various scenario conditions, which include different patterns of agents’ behaviour belonging to the considered communities, the rate of new migrants’ inflow, the amount of government education expenditures, etc.

Роль государственных расходов на образование в стимулировании человеческого развития

The paper aims to compare the impact of government expenditure on education on the human development index (HDI) at the level of three groups of countries – developed, developing and least developed ones. The Granger causality test underlies the methodological approach of the research. The author proves a cyclical nature in the efficiency of government expenditure on education and its dependence on the starting socio-economic conditions. The highest efficiency of the former was found in the group of developing countries, especially countries with middle income and relatively higher economic growth rates. With a relatively high proportion of people with completed secondary education, additional investments to education are converted into an increase in years of study, the rising proportion of people with a higher or post-secondary education, and a consequent increase in incomes. The return on investment in education is skyrocketing. At the same time, the groups of developed and least developed countries show no significant impact of a stimulating fiscal policy on the HDI. The least developed countries are in fact on the first stages of building the education system, and this is associated with a substantial demand for investment in educational infrastructure, has extremely low profitability and long payback periods. Accordingly, in the short and medium term, there is no effect from rising public investment in education. Simultaneously, upon reaching a certain level of educational maturity (in developed countries), the marginal efficiency of public investments begins to decline. In fact, the law of diminishing marginal productivity of government expenditures begins to work, when their additional increase does not lead to a significant increase in the human development index.

Complexo teníase-cisticercose em assentamentos da reforma agrária, Brasil

ABSTRACT: Thousands of families live in agrarian reform rural settlements, these existing in Brazil since the 1980s. Factors such as agglomerations of families living in the same environment and the production of domestic animals can promote the transmission and maintenance of zoonosis in these areas. The epidemiology and geographic distribution of zoonotic diseases in settlement communities need to be highlighted. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence, risk factors and spatial distribution of the teniasis-cysticercosis complex in the agrarian reform rural settlements in the state of Minas Gerais. A total of 497 family farming properties, distributed in 52 settlements, were randomly selected and sampled. Biological samples of humans, cattle and pigs were collected and processed. Survey questionnaires were applied in each family farming property to collect data on animal production as well as sanitary, hygienic and social conditions of each family. Human fecal samples were analyzed for detection of teniasis infection, while animal blood samples were collected and subjected to serological testing to detect the cysticercosis infection. A total of three (0.35%) positive cases of human teniasis were identified, 64 (4.2%) of bovine cysticercosis and 17 (3.3%) of swine cysticercosis. Prevalence per family farming unit was 0.6% (3/497) of taeniasis through fecal test, 5.8% (17/294) for swine cysticercosis and 11.1% (52/469) for bovine cysticercosis. The spatial profile for human teniasis and swine cysticercosis were clustered in two different regions, while bovine cysticercosis showed a dispersed geographical distribution. Two risk factors were associated with the occurrence of bovine cysticercosis: stream as source of water (p=0.009) and the environment as destination of sewage (p=0.031), while burning of garbage was shown to be a significant protective factor (p<0.001). Risk factor for swine cysticercosis was associated with the presence of free range pigs (p=0.008) and the environment as the destination of sewage (p≤0.024). The low number of positive human taeniasis did not allow statistical analysis. These zoonotic diseases represent a significant risk to public health because of their occurrence in livestock which are produced for both beef consumption and for commercialization. Significant endemic areas in the state of Minas Gerais have been determined in this study, and these discoverments suggest the importance of further investment in public health education about teniasis-cysticercosis transmission, the improvement of sanitary facilities for the settlements such as source and treatment of water and adequate destination of sewage. Integrated actions between the human, animal and environmental health sectors, at local and regional levels are needed, aiming at the adoption of effective public policies for the control and eradication of the teniasis-cysticercosis complex where the disease occurs.

Peruvian Public Investment Effectiveness in educational achievements

which points educational achievements is determined by years of schooling, set of school and This research finds to explain if the public investment in education is significant to explain the Peru’s educational achievements. Indeed, the research’s objective is to determine if reading comprehension is explained by executed public investment in education in the period 2007-2016. For this reason, research is based in educational production theory, teacher characteristics, child characteristics, household characteristics and educational inputs that households contribute. Further, it built an econometric model to test the relation between these variables. As a result of this, it is proved executed public investment in education it is not a significant variable to explain changes in educational achievements in Peru. Evidently, it demonstrated educational achievements are further explained by others variables which are not commonly analyzed as educational variables. For instance, the rate of schools in good conditions, level of malnutrition, coverage of drinking water, coverage of electricity, coverage of internet and current expending per student. In conclusion, it means public investment in education should concentrate further their interventions in this kind of variables, not only in schools and teachers but in other variables which speak for existent conditions for studying in households. Another important result is found model which it is possible to determine the necessaries changes in the explain variables to increase the educational achievements. Such as the case of Loreto, which need a reduction of 4.5 percentage point in the malnutrition to increase 1 percentage point in educational achievements.

What Do Public Health Graduates Do and Where Do They Go? An Analysis of Job Destinations and Mismatch in Australian Public Health Graduates.

Background: It is not well understood what occupations public health graduates have after graduation, nor is it well known whether their education provides them with the relevant knowledge and skills to feel well matched to their occupations. Furthermore, it is commonly presumed that public health graduates work in government, and investments in education would bolster this workforce. Methods: We aimed to describe the common occupations of Australian public health graduates, describe the heterogeneity of graduate destinations, describe the level of mismatch that graduates report, and compare these results with other fields of study. We used eight years of Australian graduate survey data (2008–2015) from the Graduate Destinations Survey, examining outcomes data from 8900 public health graduates from four levels of education. We compared occupation and industry heterogeneity, and level of occupational mismatch between public health graduates, and graduates from other fields of education. Results: Public health graduates report having a broad set of occupations in a broad set of industries after graduation, and this breadth is dissimilar to most health degrees. Furthermore, public health graduates tend to have average or lower-than-average rates of mismatch. Conclusions: Despite going into a broad set of occupations and industries, graduates from public health tend to report being well prepared given their education. Given that both occupation and industry outcomes are heterogeneous for graduates, an investment in public health education does not guarantee an increase in the governmental public health workforce.

Equitable Access to High-Quality Early Care and Education: Opportunities to Better Serve Young Hispanic Children and Their Families

Significant investments in public early childhood care and education (ECE) have yielded higher Hispanic enrollment in preschool-age programs, but progress has been uneven and inconsistent, especially for the youngest Hispanic children and low-income families. We review how ECE has contributed to Hispanic children’s development, offering a detailed review of Hispanic children’s participation in ECE, including evidence of effectiveness from ECE programs such as Early Head Start and Head Start, and state pre-K programs. We conclude with a discussion of why Hispanic children remain underserved by ECE and what policy changes could increase participation in these programs among Hispanics. We argue for expansion of established high-quality ECE into Hispanic-dense communities, for strategies that enroll and retain Latino children in ECE in ways that are family-centered and culturally responsive, and that ECE must adapt to better serve Hispanic families and dual language learners who require culturally appropriate pedagogy.

The brahmin left, the merchant right and the bloc bourgeois

In a recent paper, Piketty argues that the vote for the left in France, the UK and the USA tends increasingly to be associated with a high education level whereas a traditional class- or income-based divide separated left from right individuals in the 1950s and 1960s. The current situation would be characterised by a dominance of ‘elites’ in left and right constituencies: financially rich elites vote for the right (merchant right), high-education elites vote for the left (brahmin left). Using ISSP data for 17 countries, this paper tests the influence of income and education inequalities on political leaning and a variety of policy preferences: the support for redistribution, for investment in public education, for globalisation and immigration. Results show that income levels are still relevant for the left-right divide, but the influence differs across education levels. Our findings also point to a certain convergence of opinion among the Brahmin left and the merchant right, which could lead to a new political divide beyond the left and the right, uniting a bloc bourgeois.

Better educational signage could reduce disturbance of resting dolphins.

Spinner dolphins on Hawai‘i Island’s west coast (Stenella longirostris longirostris) rest by day in protected bays that are increasingly popular for recreation. Because more frequent interactions of people with these dolphins is likely to reduce rest for dolphins and to explain recent decline in dolphin abundance, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) proposed stricter rules regarding interactions with spinner dolphins near the main Hawaiian Islands and plans to increase enforcement. Simultaneous investment in public education about both interaction rules and their biological rationale has been and is likely to be relatively low. To test the hypothesis that more educational signage will reduce human-generated disturbance of dolphins, a paper questionnaire was distributed to 351 land-based, mostly unguided visitors at three dolphin resting bays on Hawai‘i Island’s west coast. Responses indicated that visitors wanted to see dolphins, were ignorant of interaction rules, were likely to read signs explaining rules and their biological rationales, and were likely to follow known rules. Therefore, investment in effective educational signage at dolphin resting bays is recommended as one way to support conservation of spinner dolphins on Hawai‘i Island’s west coast and similar sites in the Hawaiian archipelago.

Grammar of Difference. General Education in the Netherlands and Java, 1800-1940

This contribution compares developments in school enrolment and public investments in primary education in the Netherlands and its most important colony in the 19th century: the Netherlands East Indies, more specifically the island of Java. Despite being part of the same Empire, conditions in both regions were very different, with the metropole having already quite high enrolment rates from the beginning of the period studied (the early 19th century) compared to very low school attendance in the colony. For long, the colonial government left indigenous education in Java to religious and private initiatives, whereas primary schooling in the Netherlands was increasingly financed and regulated. Rising interest for public schooling in the colony, including some government investment in the first decades of the 20th century did lead to some changes, but these were insufficient to prevent Dutch and Javanese children from experiencing a fundamentally different educational upbringing.

The Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on Income Inequality in Vietnam

Foreign direct investments (FDI) is an important determinant of economic growth. FDI does not only contribute to the growth and economic development but also affects income through contributing to economic development and the impact on employment and salary structure of developing countries. The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of FDI on income inequality in Vietnam. This study is the first attempt to examine the impact of FDI on income inequality under the constraints of the institution and education levels. To address the potential endogeneity problem, this study adopts Genernalized Method of Moment (GMM) model to conduct the estimation. A two-step GMM model with robust standard errors is used in the study. Empirical results show that FDI tends to increase income inequality in Vietnam and the existence of a non-linearity relationship between FDI and income inequality is also validated. Moreover, the study finds that the effects of FDI on income inequality are different depending on the level of education and institutions of the host provinces in Vietnam. The results of this study imply that, in order to ensure sustainable development, Vietnam’s policies should focus on improving the quality of economic governance and the administrative reform efforts of the government of the provinces and cities. Besides, policies should focus on increasing investment in public education and improving human capital, which not only can reduce income inequality but also can attract more FDI inflows.

Strategic Priorities for the Human Capital Development in the Context of Socio-Economic Inequality of Russia’s Regions

At the present stage of development of the world and Russian economies, research on problems in the field of human capital development in its close relationship with economic growth is due to the transition to digital technologies and qualitative changes in the labor market. In Russia, these processes are complicated by persistent imbalances in regional development. The economic lag of regions, which is also caused by the low level of development and quality of human capital, leads to the formation of institutional traps: low incomes, reduced returns on education and, as a result, lack of motivation to invest in human capital lead to increased regional inequality and create a vicious circle. The authors justify the need to develop a regional policy in the "poor" and "middle" regions aimed at developing and improving the quality of human capital by increasing public investment in education. In addition, the article highlights barriers to quantitative growth, qualitative development and effective use of human capital in Russian regions.

A REVIEW OF NATIONAL EDUCATION SYSTEM OF INDONESIA AND UZBEKISTAN: STRUCTURE, FINANCING, REFORMS

The Government of Uzbekistan, experiencing modern reforms in an educational sector as a strategic part of a development program after the last presidential elections, spends an enormous portion of its resources on public education – significantly more than other countries in Central Asia, elsewhere with a similar income level, however, it is yet to pay off. Meanwhile, far in South-East Asia, Indonesia has made dramatic progress on expanding access to education, directing a huge stream of money towards formal education over the past few decades, but still, the learning outcomes remain low. In addition to key reforms in mandatory schooling in terms of increased quality of investment, utilization of information, communications hold considerable promise in improving educational outcomes. This comparative study on the compulsory education of both counties investigates financing and educational concerns in Indonesia and Uzbekistan. Drawing on our findings indicating the need for long-term educational reforms and proper investments in public education to reach promising milestones.

El impacto del idioma inglés en el comercio internacional

El presente artículo pretende determinar la influencia del idioma inglés en los negocios internacionales mediante la interpretación de resultados obtenidos a partir del análisis de datos macroeconómicos del Banco Mundial y el EPI en el año 2019, para 190 economías mundiales. Se trabajo una investigación explicativa, a través del análisis de conglomerados y análisis factorial para cuatro variables; Apertura de un negocio (APN), Comercio transfronterizo (CT), nivel de inglés (English level) y Gasto corriente en educación, % del gasto total en instituciones públicas (GCEP). Cabe señalar que se tuvo que asignar valores a las variables previo al análisis, para trabajar así con variables categóricas. Por los resultados obtenidos se puede afirmar que, el idioma inglés es trascendental para incursionar en el comercio internacional, y generar desarrollo económico en el proceso; asimismo, el idioma inglés como asignatura debe valorarse aún más y debe generarse una adecuada inversión en educación pública para que los estudiantes y futuros ciudadanos tengan las herramientas necesarias para socializar a nivel internacional y generar como producto de ello, negocios que impulsen la economía de su país.

Measuring Disparities in Cost and Spending across Connecticut School Districts

Despite multiple court cases and repeated efforts at reform, there are still significant concerns about the equity and the adequacy in Connecticut’s public K–12 education funding. One vital component of any attempt to reform education finance is a methodologically rigorous evaluation of what it would cost school districts across the state to achieve target performance standards given their student characteristics. This report addresses that need, evaluating the equity and the adequacy of school spending in Connecticut based on education costs. Different from actual school expenditure, a district’s education cost is an estimation based on its cost factors that are outside the direct control of local officials at any given point in time; efficiency levels are held constant across school districts in the estimation. This report finds large disparities in education costs due to differences among school districts in cost factors. It also finds that, despite existing state aid programs, disparities in cost-adjusted spending across the state remain large. Spending in some districts is well below the levels needed to achieve common performance goals. Among the specific findings of this report is that in the last year for which data were analyzed, the average costs of school districts with the lowest socioeconomic status and highest level of student need were 62 percent greater than those of districts with the highest socioeconomic status and the lowest level of student need. When this report holds every district’s efficiency at the statewide average level, it finds that more than half of Connecticut’s public school students attended districts where spending was insufficient to meet the “predicted costs” to achieve the statewide average student test performance level. A direct, negative consequence of spending inadequacy is student underperformance relative to the common student performance target. This report recommends that the state consider adopting the cost measure as the basis of a new, scientifically grounded, equitable, and adequate formula that allocates more state aid to districts with higher costs. It also suggests that many districts need to increase their spending to meet their predicted costs and close the gap between student performance and the common goal. The exact amount of the additional spending needed partly depends on the state’s choices for the student performance target and the common level of district efficiency. For example, this report estimates that in the last year analyzed, with district efficiency held at the statewide average level, an additional $940 million, or an increase of 12.3 percent from statewide public K–12 school spending, would have been needed to fully fund the predicted costs required to achieve the statewide average student test performance level in every district. While the state and local governments now face great fiscal difficulties induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, they should remain committed to the investment in public education, because it will affect Connecticut’s economic growth in the long run.

Future Challenges for Emerging Educational Environment Due to Covid 19 Lockdown

The Covid-19 or Coronavirus pandemic has changed millions of lives globally. It has impacted educational environment unprecedentedly. The education is integral component to the personal and societal growth. Closures of educational institutions have several implications as the schools are not only places of learning but ensure nutrition, safety and hope for the future. India’s diverse and layered society has always required a strong public education system for universalization of education without any discrimination. Most of the institutions switched to the online mode of learning according to their resources and saved millions of learning days. However, faced with new realities it could be said that online educations has serious limitations as well. The pandemic has revealed the digital divide distinctly. It has also underlined the need of more public investment in education and better preparedness for uncertainties. The paper examines the unfolding educational environments based on the analysis of data retrieved from the global studies with a view to make the most of the situation and set new tone of development for the future.

Cohesion in the Local Context: Reconciling the Territorial, Economic and Social Dimensions

This brief editorial introduces a set of articles dealing with territorial challenges in Europe. The EU and the member states have put attention to a silent, but growing issue of inequality: The spatial disparities are in several member states considered able to provide wider political tensions and challenges. Consequently, the EU has launched a research theme in its framework programme Horizon 2020 to cope with such matter. Most of the papers in this issue have their origin in the Horizon COHSMO project “Inequality, Urbanization and Territorial Cohesion. Developing the European Social Model of Economic Growth and Democratic Capacity.” While social or economic inequalities are recognized as a social problem, spatial disparities are forgotten or ignored. However, territorial inequalities do boost social and economic differences and add to growing tensions and contradictions in many cases. Coping with such challenges is a difficult matter; most European countries have had programmes aiming at rebalancing regional inequalities for many years. Despite major investments in public services, infrastructure, education and culture, as well as targeted support for private investors, businesses raising employment opportunities and so on. However, the success in terms of growing population and employment has been limited. Instead, endogenous structures and relations receive more attention; in particularly local capacity to generate solutions and means to promote economic and social development. This ability strongly links to the concept of collective efficacy, i.e., a joint understanding and capability to organize and execute actions of mutual benefit.