School Enrollment Rates Research Articles

The educational effects of 19thcentury disentailment of Catholic Church land in Colombia

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to analyse the effects of land concentration prompted by the distribution of disentailed church land during the second half of the 19thcentury on the accumulation of human capital in early 20thcentury Colombia1. Using existing primary sources on the process of land disentailment and the 1912 National Census at the municipal level, descriptive statistics and econometric evidence show a significant and negative relationship between the amount of disentailed land during the 1870s and literacy and school enrolment rates of males in 1912.

A Geographic Analysis of Public-Private School Choice in South Carolina, USA

Despite years of research and debate, household choice between public and private schools is not well understood. This article investigates factors associated with parental choice between public and private schools using unique census-based school enrollment data for school districts in South Carolina and for neighborhoods in the Columbia Metropolitan Area. This study extends the existing literature by examining patterns of public-private school choice for whites and blacks separately in order to control racial disparities in school choice. Results of multiple regression analyses for the whole population and subdivided racial groups generally support the assumption that public-private school enrollment rate is subject to socioeconomic status, racial proportion, and public school quality. Findings of this study not only suggests the reconciliation of the market-based theory and the racial preference theory, but also provides insights into education policies in terms of stemming white enrollment losses and fostering public school education in the United States.

Human capital and sorting models reconsidered

Turkey changed its compulsory attendance law in the 1997-1998 academic year. The requirement increased from five to eight years of primary education. After the law change, there is an abrupt increase in the high school enrollment rate. This is despite the fact that the law does not cover high school education. By using the 2003 household budget survey and differences in differences methodology, we find that a typical student is 3.2 percent more likely to have high school education if he is subject to the new law. Moreover, the largest increase in the likelihood of having high school education is attained by the students who have the weakest socioeconomic background. These findings are consistent with the standard sorting model but contrast the standard human capital model.

Fiscal Incentives, Maquiladoras, and Local Standard of Living in Mexico before and after Nafta

This work finds that maquiladora activity exerts no robust net influence on various nonincome measures of standard of living in Mexico: literacy rate, school enrollment rates, basic housing amenities, life expectancy, infant mortality, and an overall index of human development. The maquiladora program, an array of tax benefits designed to foster foreign-owned in-bond for-export manufacturing plants, introduced in Mexico in the 1960s, experienced a remarkable expansion in the late 1990s. In the early 1990s, the program was used as a prototype of the fiscal incentives necessary to attract foreign investment, considered necessary to promote social development. Legislative changes and NAFTA provisions were modeled after it. Although small, the main data set is supplemented to control for the effects of non-maquiladora economic activity and prior growth. To account for possible endogeneity, maquiladora activity is instrumented with a measure of road transportation time to the nearest major border city in the United States. Robust OLS, IV-TSLS, and IV-GLS regressions are used to estimate the effects.

Participation Rate and Labour Force Growth in Canada

This paper analyzes the determinants of participation rate movements in Canada from the early 1950s through the 1970s, with a particular focus on the socio-economic determinants of the changing labour force attachment of successive cohorts of adult men and women and young persons, and develops projections of participation rate and labour force growth to the year 2000. A wide variety of sociological and economic forces is identified as contributing to the remarkably steady growth of women's labour force participation since the early 1950s including: the rising material aspirations of families; the development of new birth control techniques; very pronounced changes in attitudes with respect to desired family size; changes in women’s personal aspirations, as reflected in the increasing average educational attainments of women; the sharply rising incidence of marriage break-down and divorce; the expansion of the service sectors of industrialized economies; and the growth in the range of household labour-saving devices and convenience products. Notably,the largest increases in women's participation rates were recorded by women with very young children present in the home. The apparent stability of the participation rate of adult men is identified as resulting from different influences working in opposite directions; namely rising average educational attainments that operated to increase their participation and improvements in social security and other factors that worked to decrease their participation. For young persons, labour force participation patterns appear to be related to changes in the economic returns to higher education. The high monetary rewards to further education in the 1950s and 1960s were associated with declining participation rates and rising school enrollment rates; the decline in the returns to education in the 1970s was associated with declining (or more slowly rising) enrollment rates, and rising participation rates.,

An International Index of Child Welfare

This paper develops an international index of child welfare that can be used for comparisons across countries and over time. Values of this index for the year 1998 are presented for 118 countries. The paper is organized as follows. Sections 2 briefly discusses the importance of child welfare both as a means to advance economic development objectives and as an end in itself. Section 3 calculates National Performance Gaps (NPGs), a concept first introduced by UNICEF (1995) to measure child welfare variables relative to international norms based on per capita income. After reviewing some methodological issues, I present estimates of NPGs for five variables: (1) the infant mortality rate; (2) the under-five mortality rate; (3) the percentage of underfive children who are underweight; (4) the primary school enrollment rate; and (5) the percentage of children reaching grade five. Section 4 draws on these NPGs to devise a composite index of child welfare, which I term WINOCENT. Finally, Section 5 offers some concluding remarks.

Allocation of Labor in Urban West Africa: Insights from the Pattern of Labor Supply and Skill Premiums

AbstractUsing comparable data from five West African capitals, we assess the rationale behind development policies targeting high rates of school enrollment through the prism of allocation of labor and earnings effects of skills across the formal and informal sectors, and not working. We find that people with high levels of education allocate to the small formal sector, while less educated workers allocate to the informal sector. While high levels of education are given more value in the relatively smaller sectors of salaried employment, observed skills like education appear to be fairly unprofitable in the larger self‐employment sector. The fact that only the small formal sector in urban West Africa both seems to absorb highly educated workers and provide high skill premiums may be an important reason for the observed low demand for education and high dropout rates.

Do Remittances Boost Economic Development? Evidence From Mexican States

Remittances have been promoted as a development tool because they can raise incomes and reduce poverty rates in developing countries. Remittances may also promote development by providing funds that recipients can spend on education or health care or invest in entrepreneurial activities. From a macroeconomic perspective, remittances can boost aggregate demand and thereby GDP as well as spur economic growth. However, remittances may also have adverse macroeconomic impacts by increasing income inequality and reducing labor supply among recipients. We use state-level data from Mexico during 2003-2007 to examine the aggregate effect of remittances on employment, wages, unemployment rates, the wage distribution, and school enrollment rates. While employment, wages and school enrollment have risen over time in Mexican states, these trends are not accounted for by increasing remittances. However, two-stage least squares specifications among central Mexican states suggest that remittances shift the wage distribution to the right, reducing the fraction of workers earning the minimum wage or less.

Early Childhood Education: The Case of Turkey

It is now widely recognized that early childhood education has paramount significance for the well-being of societies. In this study, the current situation of early childhood education in Turkey is discussed mainly in terms of its perception by the government, the school enrollment rate and the quality of early childhood education programs. The study attempts to evaluate the case of Turkey compared to those of several other developed countries. It is believed that this brief snapshot considerably demonstrates that Turkey lags behind several countries not only in terms of quantity but also with respect to the quality in early childhood education; however, it has at least recognized the worth of early childhood education.

Latino Representation and Education: Pathways to Latino Student Performance

AbstractThe rapid growth of the Latino population in the U.S. over the past 15 years has led to a significant increase in levels of primary and secondary school enrollment rates of Latino children. Research on Latino education has demonstrated the institutional and contextual challenges faced by this increasingly significant group, but studies that link Latino representation and Latino educational performance have neglected to sort out the direct and indirect effects of representation on student achievement. The central assumption in these studies outlines a causal chain running from Latino political representation (school boards), to Latino bureaucratic representation (administrators and teachers), to Latino student performance. This study tests these theoretical assumptions by employing a path analytic model using data from 1,040 Texas school districts for the years 1997–2001 to tease out the direct and indirect effects of Latino representation on Latino student achievement. We find robust evidence of the impact of Latino political representation on Latino educational attainment in Texas, operating via a direct effect on the number of Latino administrators and teachers and an indirect effect on Latino student performance. Additionally, our results demonstrate that descriptive representation becomes substantive representation in the area of education policy for Latinos and that this relationship remains strong over time. These findings underscore the importance of school board elections and school district hiring practices on Latino student performance.

Free Primary Education in Kenya: An Impact Evaluation Using Propensity Score Methods

This paper attempts to evaluate the impact of the free primary education programme in Kenya, which is based on the premise that government intervention can lead to enhanced access to education especially by children from poor parental backgrounds. Primary education system in Kenya has been characterised by high wastage in form of low enrolment, high dropout rates, grade repetition as well as poor transition from primary to secondary schools. This scenario was attributed to high cost of primary education. To reverse these poor trends in educational achievements, the government initiated free primary education programme in January 2003. This paper therefore analyzes the impact of the FPE programme using panel data. Results indicate primary school enrolment rate has improved especially for children hailing from higher income categories; an indication that factors that prevent children from poor backgrounds from attending primary school go beyond the inability to pay school fees. Grade progression in primary schools has slightly dwindled. The results also indicate that there still exist constraints hindering children from poorer households from transiting to secondary school. The free primary education programme was found to be progressive, with the relatively poorer households drawing more benefits from the subsidy.

Razvojno zaostajanje Podsaharske Afrike

Sub-Saharan Africa is a very diverse region with extensive natural wealth, great human potential, and a rich history. However, the majority of its countries are among the poorest in the world and about half of its 800 million inhabitants live in extreme poverty. Sub-Saharan Africa produces only 1.5% of the world’s GDP and its share in world trade has fallen from 6% in 1980 to 2% today. The region’s exports remain dominated by primary goods (fuels, ores, and agricultural products). The roots of the region’s economic weakness lie variously in the past colonial relationships with European countries and in unjust global trade patterns as well as in misuse of power by ruling political elites in the post-independence era. Numerous civil wars and other conflicts have fragmented the sub-Saharan countries into many factions and parties fighting for domination. The region is lagging behind developed countries because of corruption, lack of infrastructure, weakness of its institutions, heavy indebtedness, lack of education and health services, and unfavorable natural conditions, among other factors. Subsistence agriculture is the source of livelihood for most Africans. Nevertheless, average yields per hectare are low and heavily dependent on climatic conditions. Compared to urban areas (except for slums), people living in rural areas have worse infrastructure and are further from achieving the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. The recent increase in food prices is threatening the limited progress in reducing hunger and malnutrition (28% of children under age five are underweight and particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases). Little progress has been made in reducing child and maternal mortality; mortality rates remain the highest in the world. In the previous decade, life expectancy in sub-Saharan countries has fallen due to the spread of HIV/AIDS and it still remains below fifty. In addition, many negative socioeconomic effects are the result of malaria, which kills approximately one million people every year, 91% of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa. In order to promote gender equality and empower women, education is of vital importance. Compared to other (especially developed) regions, school enrollment rates are considerably lower and dropout rates considerably higher, particularly for girls. The majority of countries in subSaharan Africa will not be able to achieve their educational goals by 2015. Despite the fact that the region is not exceeding the carrying capacities of its environment (as measured by its ecological footprint), environmental problems in some areas are severe. Deforestation, desertification, coral bleaching, negative effects of climate changes (sea level rise, reduced freshwater availability, extreme weather events, etc.), loss of biodiversity, and soil degradation are the most worrying. Population growth is exacerbating these environmental problems and is making it more difficult to achieve a higher standard of living for all. Owing to the complexity of developmental problems, sub-Saharan Africa will have to use its own resources very wisely and make the most of development aid from developed countries.

A Critical Analysis of School Enrollment and Literacy Rates of Girls and Women in Pakistan

Since Pakistan's inception in 1947, the government has made continuous efforts to provide free, universal, basic education to its citizens. This is evidenced by educational plans, policies, and five-year education sector reforms, including partnerships with international agencies and developed countries. However, these efforts have not yielded any gains for the citizens. Pakistan has a literacy rate of 49.9 percent, one of the lowest in South Asia and the rest of the world. Pakistan's male and female literacy rates are 61.7 percent and 35.2 percent. The female literacy rate drops to 25 percent in rural areas, and girls' school enrollment of fifty-five percent drops to twenty percent from Grade 1 to 6. For the purposes of these statistics, a literate person is defined by Pakistan's Ministry of Education as one who can read a newspaper and write a simple letter in any language. Pakistan's population of 167 million is sixty-five percent rural and thirty-five percent urban, with citizens facing multiple interlinked issues affecting their quality of life, such as illiteracy, poverty, and the lack of basic necessities (shelter, gas, water, and electricity). In addition, a culture of feudalism and patriarchy creates structures of power and control that deprive citizens of their rights, including that of education (Farah 2007; Latif 2009). Studies have been conducted on education in Pakistan,1 but they have been limited in scope in terms of girls' education. This article addresses the gap in female literacy scholarship. Its purpose is to critically analyze the state of girls' education in Pakistan in terms of three factors: the reasons for low literacy and school enrollment rates, gender biases in curriculum and textbooks, and cultural norms. Based on this analysis, the article concludes with measures to increase school enrollment and literacy rates for girls and women.

The use of insecticide treated nets by age: implications for universal coverage in Africa

BackgroundThe scaling of malaria control to achieve universal coverage requires a better understanding of the population sub-groups that are least protected and provide barriers to interrupted transmission. Here we examine the age pattern of use of insecticide treated nets (ITNs) in Africa in relation to biological vulnerabilities and the implications for future prospects for universal coverage.MethodsRecent national household survey data for 18 malaria endemic countries in Africa were assembled to indentify information on use of ITNs by age and sex. Age-structured medium variant projected population estimates for the mid-point year of the earliest and most recent national surveys were derived to compute the population by age protected by ITNs.ResultsAll surveys were undertaken between 2005 and 2009, either as demographic health surveys (n = 12) or malaria indicator surveys (n = 6). Countries were categorized into three ITN use groups: <10%; 10 to <20%; and ≥20% and projected population estimates for the mid-point year of 2007 were computed. In general, the pattern of overall ITNs use with age was similar by country and across the three country groups with ITNs use initially high among children <5 years of age, sharply declining among the population aged 5-19 years, before rising again across the ages 20-44 years and finally decreasing gradually in older ages. For all groups of countries, the highest proportion of the population not protected by ITNs (38% - 42%) was among those aged 5-19 years.ConclusionIn malaria-endemic Africa, school-aged children are the least protected with ITNs but represent the greatest reservoir of infections. With increasing school enrollment rates, school-delivery of ITNs should be considered as an approach to reach universal ITNs coverage and improve the likelihood of impacting upon parasite transmission.

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Gender and Employment: A Global Lens on Feminist Analyses and Theorizing of Labor Markets

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Gender and Employment: A Global Lens on Feminist Analyses and Theorizing of Labor Markets

Brain Drain, Brain Gain, and Economic Growth in China

This paper examines the effects of both permanent and temporary emigration on human capital formation and economic growth of the source regions. To achieve this end, this paper explores the Chinese provincial panel data from 1980 to 2005. First, the fixed effects model is employed to estimate the effect of emigration on school enrollment rates in the source regions. Relative to this aspect, we find that the magnitude (scale) of permanent emigrants (measured by the permanent emigration ratio) is conducive to the improvement of both middle and high schools enrollments. In contrast, the magnitude of temporary emigrants has a significantly positive effect on middle school enrollment but does not have a significant effect on high school enrollment. More interestingly, different educational attainments of temporary emigrants have different effects on school enrollment. Specifically, the share of temporary emigrants with high school education positively affects middle school enrollment, while the share of temporary emigrants with middle school education negatively affects high school enrollment. Second, the instrumental variable method is applied to estimate the effect of emigration on economic growth within the framework of system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). The estimation results suggest that both permanent and temporary emigrations have a detrimental effect on the economic growth of the source regions. Our empirical tests provide some new evidence to the brain drain debate, which has recently received increasing attention.

School Choice in Black and White: Private School Enrollment Among Racial Groups, 1990–2000

This study investigates how much the racial composition of communities influences the private school enrollment rates of members of different racial groups. Some scholars argue that private school enrollment contributes to racial segregation in public schools because White families attempt to enhance the social status of their children by leaving public schools serving communities with higher percentages of children who are Black. A second group of scholars argue that private school enrollment is primarily based on nonracial factors. A third, related perspective argues that race is of diminishing importance in driving behaviors such as school choice. This study explores these perspectives using 1990 and 2000 Public Use Micro Data Samples to estimate private school enrollment rates by student race and community racial composition. Findings indicate that private school enrollment rates among Asian, Black, and Hispanic students do not fluctuate much with community racial composition. By contrast, private school enrollment rates among White families are strongly and positively correlated with the percentage of children in their communities who are Black—even after holding constant a series of individual and community-level factors that may account for this trend. Moreover, the association between race and choice has changed little between 1990 and 2000.

Inequity and poverty: everyday emotional disturbances and mental disorders in the Mexican urban population

Recent decades have seen renewed interest in the study of poverty and its repercussions on various health problems, including mental disorder (Patel, 2007). There are various ways of measuring poverty; some approaches define it in economic terms, whereby health is included only as an asset that must be given to those defined as poor (Damián &amp; Boltvinik, 2003). Other conceptions propose definitions based on the capacity of the poor to improve their standard of living, and consider health and education as essential elements in this process. This is the case of the Human Development Index (HDI), which, in addition to the economic dimension, measures other social indicators such as life expectancy, literacy and school enrolment and drop-out rates, among others (United Nations Development Programme, 2000). On the basis of the HDI, Mexico ranks 52 out of 177 countries. According to its percentage of gross domestic product invested in health, it is regarded as a country with a medium/high income level.

Family resources, sitting at home and democratic choice: investigating determinants of educational attainment in post-Soviet Tajikistan

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, school enrolment, attendance and attainment rates fell across the region. In Tajikistan, there has been a decrease in average completion rates for basic, secondary and higher education, as well as a growing gender gap because girls are much less likely than boys to finish all levels of schooling. Past work on educational stratification in the region has demonstrated similar trends, but not sought to explain the processes generating these patterns. Scholars of educational participation suggest that a variety of family, community and macro-structural factors influence educational attainment. This paper broadens our understanding of the processes generating the decline in educational attainment and widening gender gap by analysing interviews conducted with parents, teachers and university students living in Tajikistan in 2006–2007. Respondents overwhelmingly attribute the drop in educational rates to increased poverty and its effects on family resources. The large decrease in girls' attainment is rationalized by citing cultural norms dictating that they will only become housewives, ‘sitting at home’, and do not need further education. Others point to changes in educational policy as a reason for lower attainment rates because parents and children are now able to choose whether or not to continue studies in the new democratic society. This article is the winner of the 2008 CESS Award for Best Graduate Paper. This prize is awarded yearly by the Central Eurasian Studies Society to promote new scholarship focusing on the history, politics, culture and societies of Central Eurasia

White Flight in the Context of Education: Evidence from South Carolina

In the context of education, white flight refers to decreasing white enrollment in poor-performing, inner-city public schools. This article investigates white flight and the concomitant movement to better performing public schools and racially homogenous private schools using elementary school enrollment data from South Carolina, particularly the Columbia Metropolitan Area. The findings indicate a consistent loss of white enrollments from poor-performing, inner-city schools. The private school enrollment rates of whites are also sensitive to both the academic quality and the proportion of minorities in neighborhood schools as well as the racial composition of the neighborhoods.