Enhancing the public provision of education

Educational systems in developing countries show widespread problems that hinder delivering the service in adequate quantity and quality, as well as equity issues are still unresolved in many cases. The paper provides a flexible framework to deal with educational provision and public policies in developing countries, linking the impact of quality-quantity-equity of educational policies on labour markets. It adds to the education production function and human capital accumulation theoretical literature in which it includes the presence of inefficiencies, modelling the role of educational policies on tacking at them. Educational policies designing is discussed, which leads to suggest that more sophisticated educational policies (“multiple targets”) may increase the efficiency of the expenditure in education in terms of the quantity-quality of the output (skills).

Enhancing the public provision of education: the economics of education reform in developing countries

The comprehensive evaluation of education reforms in developing countries needs the consideration of the 'triangle'' quality-quantity-equity in the short, medium and long term, in a broader context than just the education system itself. There is no simple ‘recipe'' to enhance education, though some general results are found by means of simulation exercises. First, it is expensive and anti-economical to rely on a reform consisting in just more resources, since returns are decreasing. However, focused policies may improve the returns to the expenditure. Second, the timing of the reform matters: policies that are more productive in the short term may be less convenient than competing alternatives in the longer term. Third, effects of the reform are cumulative, and to evaluate it by its generally modest short-term merits may put it at risk of reversion, and/or hinder future investment in the sector

Trade and Skills in Uruguay: Long Term Skill Requirements

The paper discusses the links between skill requirements in the labour market and alternative trade patterns using a CGE applied on updated data for Uruguay. The results for alternative scenarios in the long term show that, the wage gap would widen should the pattern of trade growth follow the current trend; however, an enhanced demand of commodities would favour a reduction in the wage gap. The exercises provide insights on the economy-wide effects in the long term of the interaction of trends in trade and accumulation of skills, and thus on the role of the current policy of development of human resources.trade, skills, development

When more schooling is not worth the effort: another look at the dropout decisions of disadvantaged students

This paper shows that when student heterogeneity is introduced in the analysis, differences in the quality of education and in the probability of repetition, typical in developing countries, mark the contrast between an attractive and an inconvenient investment in education. The methodology associates educational quality and repetition rates with educational returns. In particular, it makes apparent that lower secondary education, in the case of Uruguay, is an inconvenient investment for disadvantaged students, even disregarding the possibility of such students not being able to afford the opportunity costs, this fact probably also explains the heavy dropout rates of this student type in many developing countries.La incorporación de la heterogeneidad del estudiante en el análisis, las diferencias en la calidad de la educación y en la probabilidad de repitencia, típicas en los países en desarrollo, marca la diferencia entre una inversión en educación atractiva y otra inconveniente. La metodología asocia la calidad educacional y las tasas de repitencia con los retornos a la educación. En particular, parece evidente que menos educación secundaria, en el caso de Uruguay, es una inversión inconveniente para los estudiantes con desventajas, aun no teniendo en cuenta la posibilidad de que dichos alumnos no puedan afrontar los costos de oportunidad, hecho que probablemente también explica la fuerte deserción de este tipo de estudiantes en muchos países en desarrollo

Calificaciones y ciclo económico: radiografía de una década agitada. Uruguay 2000-2010

The figures show that in Uruguay there are not significant changes in the composition of employment by qualifications during the last decade, being the majority group those of medium skilled workers. Even when in the period there was a significant increment in employment, it was not exempt of significant fluctuations which affected differently qualification groups and activity sectors. From these data some long term policy recommendations arise, as courter cyclical policies for skill formation as well as a careful consideration of promoting sector-specific-skills for riskier sectors.skills, employment, economic cycle

When more schooling is not worth the effort: another look at the dropout decisions of disadvantaged students

This paper shows that when student heterogeneity is introduced in the analysis, differences in the quality of education and in the probability of repetition, typical in developing countries, mark the contrast between an attractive and an inconvenient investment in education. The methodology associates educational quality and repetition rates with educational returns. In particular, it makes apparent that lower secondary education, in the case of Uruguay, is an inconvenient investment for disadvantaged students, even disregarding the possibility of such students not being able to afford the opportunity costs, this fact probably also explains the heavy dropout rates of this student type in many developing countries

Public expenditure on education and skill formation: is there a simple rule to maximize skills?

The ratio of skilled-to-unskilled labour stocks in the economy is widely acknowledged to have an important role for development. Can education policy affect the evolution of this ratio? This paper shows that it can: it also shows that the effect of education policy, for a given budget size, depends on the allocation rule across educational levels, particularly in the presence of systemic inefficiency. Using a stylized hierarchical education model, the theoretical conditions under which the allocation rule would favour the accumulation of skills are determined. The analysis has implication for policymakers in developing countries, where skill formation is much needed, because it shows that their allocation rules usually violate the maximization condition by assigning higherthan- optimal resources to higher education

Public provision of education and endogenous skill formation in developing countries : the case of Uruguay

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Public education in developing countries: Cost-effectiveness of education policies and endowments growth

The article analyses the general equilibrium effects of education as a user and producer of resources considering some features of the sector typical in developing countries, such as the presence of inefficiencies, in a model that nevertheless remains close to the Heckscher-Ohlin paradigm. Short- and long-term effects of education are considered and it is shown that the overall effects are linked to the efficiency with which endowments are produced. The analysis has implications for policymakers in developing countries with failing educational systems, as it suggests a relation between cost-effectiveness of policies and growth and not between enrolments and growth or between public expenditure in education and growth as it is usually tested in growth regressions.public education, skills formation, developing countries,