Income Inequality in Brazil: Is Education Quality an Important Determinant?

This paper examines the contribution of education quality to income inequality in Brazil. More specifically, I look at the average income of municipalities in Brazil to observe how much the disparities in education quality across municipalities account for income inequality. Three commonly used methods to study income inequality are implemented: decomposition by population subgroups, a regression-based approach and the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition. Using different measures for education quality, I find that the provision of a good measured education among public schools contributes little to the variation of average income across municipalities

Essays on The Supply of Education and Student Achievement

This dissertation examines the relationship between the supply of education and student achievement in three distinct contexts and across three levels of schooling. The first chapter, Private School Entry, Sorting, and the Performance of Public Schools: Evidence from Rural Pakistan, asks whether private school expansion in rural Punjab, Pakistan, affects the academic performance of students in primary public schools. I show that younger students from wealthier households and students who perform better in school are more likely to exit public schools and enroll in private schools. I conclude that sorting does not have negative consequences for the academic performance of students who stay in public schools. The second chapter, Searching for Answers: The Impact of Student Access to Wikipedia, evaluates an intervention from a randomized controlled trial in Malawi in which secondary school students got access to Wikipedia. Students searched for information related to their school syllabus, sexuality, African news, and a variety of topics that cater to their interests. We find that access to Wikipedia improved exam scores in English and Biology, especially among low achievers. The third chapter, What Sets College Divers and Thrivers Apart: A Contrast in Study Habits, Attitudes, and Mental Health, is an article published in 2019 in Economics Letters. We examine study habits and mental health among college students in Canada. Compared to students who do very well in college, students who perform poorly struggle on several dimensions: they feel more depressed, study less, and do not utilize the free university resources. The three chapters explore the common themes of student academic performance and school resources, from primary, secondary, to tertiary education, and across three continents. The findings inform policymakers about the role of the supply of education on student achievement.Ph.D