Does the Choice of University Matter? A Study of the Differences across UK Universites in Life Sciences Students' Degree Performance

This paper investigates differences across UK universities in 1993 life sciences students' degree performance using individual-level data from the Universities' Statistical Record (USR). Differences across universities are analysed by specifying and estimating a subject- specific educational production function. Even after including a wide range of controls for the quality of students, significant differences emerge across universities in students' degree performance. We apply a two-stage estimation procedure and find evidence that a large part of 'university effects' cannot be explained by the kind of institutional inputs commonly used in the literature on school quality. Finally, we compare the unadjusted ranking of universities based on the proportion of 'good' (first and upper second class honours) degrees awarded with that based on the estimated probability of a 'good' degree obtained from the microeconometric model and find significant differences between the two indicators of universities' performance.educational economics, input-output analysis, ordered probit, performance indicators, value-added

Non-pecuniary returns to higher education: the effect on smoking intensity in the UK

This paper investigates whether higher education (HE) produces non-pecuniary returns via a reduction in the intensity of consumption of health-damaging substances. In particular, it focuses on current smoking intensity of the British individuals sampled in the 29-year follow-up survey of the 1970 British Cohort Study. We estimate endogenous dummy ordinal response models for cigarette consumption and show that HE is endogenous with respect to smoking intensity and that even when endogeneity is accounted for, HE is found to have a strong negative effect on smoking intensity. Moreover, pecuniary channels, such as occupation and income, mediate only a minor part of the effect of HE. Our results are robust to modelling individual self-selection into current smoking participation (at age 29) and to estimating a dynamic model in which past smoking levels affect current smoking levels

Local Human Capital Externalities and Wages at the Firm Level: The Case of Italian Manufacturing

We use a unique firm-level data set merging administrative information on average wages paid by firms by skill level (blue collars and white collars), Population Census information on the local stock of human capital available to firms and survey information on firm characteristics to investigate the existence and magnitude of local human capital externalities in Italian Manufacturing. The latter represents an interesting case study due to the prevalence of small family business and a technological lag with respect to the US, to which most evidence supporting local human capital spillovers refers. Our estimates show that in Italy, like in the US, firms located in geographical areas with a higher stock of human capital pay higher wages. This evidence is robust to many variants of the econometric specification and to addressing potential endogeneity issues using instrumental variables estimation and instruments based on the lagged expansion of the Italian higher education system and the lagged demographic structure.firm, local human capital externalities, Italy, manufacturing, wages

Selection-endogenous ordered probit and dynamic ordered probit models

In this presentation we define two qualitatitive response models: 1) Selection Endogenous Dummy Ordered Probit model (SED-OP); 2) a Selection Endogenous Dummy Dynamic Selection Ordered Probit model (SED- DOP). The SED-OP model is a three-equation model constituted of an endogenous dummy equation, a selection equation, and a main equation which has an ordinal response form. The main feature of the model is that the endogenous dummy enters both the selection equation and the main equation. The dynamic SED-DOP model allows both the selection equation and the ordered equation to be dynamic by including lagged individual behaviour. Initial conditions are properly accounted for and free correlation among unobservables entering each of the three equations is allowed. We show how these models can be estimated in Stata using Maximum Simulated Likelihood.

Parental Health and Child Schooling

Evidence on the role of parental health on child schooling is surprisingly thin. We explore this issue by estimating the short-run effects of parents’ illness on child school enrollment. Our analysis is based on household panel data from Bosnia-Herzegovina, a country whose health and educational systems underwent extensive destruction during the 1992-1995 war. Using child fixed effects to correct for potential endogeneity bias, we find that – contrary to the common wisdom that shocks to the primary household earner should have more negative consequences for child education – it is especially maternal health that makes a difference as far as child schooling is concerned. Children whose mothers self-reported having poor health are about 7 percentage points less likely to be enrolled in education at ages 15-24. These results are robust to considering alternative indicators of parental health status such as the presence of limitations in the activities of daily living and depression symptoms. Moreover, we find that mothers’ health shocks have more negative consequences on younger children and sons.Bosnia and Herzegovina, children, education, parents, school, self-reported health

Student time allocation and educational production functions

In this paper we aim to remedy some shortcomings in the economic literature on university student absenteeism and academic performance. We start by introducing a simple theoretical model in which students decide the optimal allocation of their time between lecture attendance, self-study and leisure. Under some specific assumptions, we find a positive relationship between lecture attendance and time devoted to self-study in each course, from which we infer that estimates of student performance regressions which omit self-study might be biased. Thus, we estimate an academic performance regression using data from first year undergraduate students of economics in the academic year 1998-99 at the University of Ancona (Italy) and find evidence that once self-study time is controlled for, the positive and significant effect of lecture attendance for some courses disappears. This is likely to be important especially when student performance regressions are used to evaluate the effectiveness of course attendance and to inform the debate on the introduction of mandatory attendance on some courses to enhance student performance.course attendance, student performance, time allocation

Are Exporters More Likely to Introduce Product Innovations?

A firm\'s export status may improve its capacity of introducing product innovations. We explore this idea using very rich firm-level data on Italian A firm\'s export status may improve its capacity of introducing product innovations. We explore this idea using very rich firm-level data on Italian Manufacturing, and sector-province specific measures of firms\' distance from export markets and of their export market potential as instruments for differences in export activities. We find that exporting significantly increases the likelihood of introducing product innovations and that this effect is not fully captured by the channels commonly stressed by the theoretical literature, such as larger market (and accordingly firm) size or higher investments in R&D. We argue that heterogeneity in foreign customers\' tastes and needs may explain our findings.Exporters, Firms, Italy, Manufacturing, Product Innovation

Endogenous Treatment Effects for Count Data Models with Sample Selection or Endogenous Participation

In this paper we propose an estimator for models in which an endogenous dichotomous treatment affects a count outcome in the presence of either sample selection or endogenous participation using maximum simulated likelihood. We allow for the treatment to have an effect on both the sample selection or the participation rule and the main outcome. Applications of this model are frequent in – but are not limited to – health economics. We show an application of the model using data from Kenkel and Terza (2001), who investigate the effect of physician advice on the amount of alcohol consumption. Our estimates suggest that in these data (i) neglecting treatment endogeneity leads to a wrongly signed effect of physician advice on drinking intensity, (ii) neglecting endogenous participation leads to an upward biased estimate of the treatment effect of physician advice on drinking intensity.count data, drinking, endogenous participation, maximum simulated likelihood, sample selection, treatment effects

Local Human Capital Externalities and Wages at Firm Level

We use a unique data set providing administrative information on earnings by skill-level (blue collars, white collars), on the local stock of human capital and on several firm’s characteristics, including balance sheet data, to investigate the size of localized human capital externalities in Italian manufacturing. Our estimates do not show any evidence of human capital spillovers neither at the firm nor at the local level. This finding is not really surprising and can be explained by many features of Italian manufacturing.externalities, human capital, manufacturing, wages.

Parental Health and Child Schooling

Evidence on the role of parental health on child schooling is surprisingly thin. We explore this issue by estimating the short-run effects of parents\' illness on child school enrollment. Our analysis is based on household panel data from Bosnia-Herzegovina, a country whose health and educational systems underwent extensive destruction during the 1992-1995 war. Using child fixed effects to correct for potential endogeneity bias, we find that — contrary to the common wisdom that shocks to the primary household earner should have more negative consequences for child education — it is especially maternal health that makes a difference as far as child schooling is concerned. Children whose mothers self-reported having poor health are about 7 percentage points less likely to be enrolled in education at ages 15-24. These results are robust to considering alternative indicators of parental health status such as the presence of limitations in the activities of daily living and depres-sion symptoms. Moreover, we find that mothers\' health shocks have more negative consequences on younger children and sons.Bosnia and Herzegovina, children, education, parents, school, self-reported