Returns to Education and Increasing Wage Inequality in Latin America

This paper studies a central feature that characterized the changes in wage inequality in Latin America in the 1990s: log wages became a convex function of the level of education. The wage gap between Higher and Intermediate Education increased and the one between Intermediate and Basic Education declined. The double change in the wage di¤erentials was driven by a signicant drop in the mean wage at Intermediate. I develop and simulate a dynamic general equilibrium model of savings and educational choices under credit constraints and uninsurable earningsrisk in which ability is an important component of individual wages. I estimate the parameters of the model using micro data from Mexico. The results show that the convexication was the result of changes in the prices of education due to changes in its supply. Absent the general equilibrium price e¤ects, the changes in ability composition by education needed to produce the convexication would have been unrealistically high.Latin America, Wage Inequality, Education Choices, General Equilibrium filtering

Upstream innovation protection: common law evolution and the dynamics of wage inequality

The incentives to conduct basic or applied research play a central role for economic growth, and this question has not been explored in much detail so far. How does increasing early innovation appropriability affect basic research, applied research, education, and wage inequality? In the US, what does the common law system imply on the macroeconomic responses to institutional change? This paper analyzes the macroeconomic effects of patent protection by incorporating a two-stage cumulative innovation structure into a quality-ladder growth model with skill acquisition. We consider three issues (a) the over-protection vs. the under-protection of intellectual property rights; (b) the evolution of jurisprudence shaping the bargaining power of the upstream innovators; and (c) the implications of strengthening patent protection on wage inequality and growth. We show analytically and numerically how the jurisprudential changes in intellectual property rights witnessed in the US after 1980 can be related to the well-known changes in wage inequality and in education attainments. Basic research patents may have grown disproportionately due increasing jurisdictional protection, eventually compromising applied innovation, education, and growth. By simulations, we show that the dynamic general equilibrium interations may mislead the econometric assessment of the temporary vs persistent effects IPR policy.Basic and Applied R&D; Two-Stage Sequential Innovation; Skill Premium; Inequality and Education; Common Law.

Education : past, present and future global challenges

Progress in educational development in the world since 1900 has been slow and uneven between countries. Providing basic education for all children in developing countries has been and remains an unmet challenge of governments and international organizations alike. This is in sharp contrast to recent findings in the economics literature on the catalytic role of human capital for economic growth and social development in general. Using a newly constructed matched data set on education and national accounts in the 1950 to 2010 period, this paper estimates the loss of income and equity associated with not having a faster rate of human capital accumulation, using alternative methodologies and specific country examples. Such loss is projected backward (1900-1950) and forward (2010-2050) using plausible assumptions regarding what countries could have done in the past or may do in the future to accelerate human capital formation. The findings suggest that the welfare loss in terms of per capita income conservatively ranges from about 7 to 10 percent. Improved educational attainment is also shown to have an effect in reducing income inequality.Education For All,Economic Theory&Research,Primary Education,Access&Equity in Basic Education,Achieving Shared Growth

Upstream Innovation Protection: Common Law Evolution and the Dynamics of Wage Inequality

What is the most innovation-enhancing level of patent protection for the new ideas generated within the framework of multi-stage sequential innovation? How does increasing early innovation appropriability affect basic research, applied research, education, and wage inequality? What does the common law system imply on the macroeconomic responses to institutional change? We show how the jurisprudential changes in intellectual property rights witnessed in the US after 1980 can be related to the well-known increase in wage inequality and in education attainments. A Schumpeterian general equilibrium approach is followed.Basic and Applied R&D, Sequential Innovation, Skill Premium, Inequality and Education, Research Exemption, Common Law

The important factors of English Program administration responsive to the ASEAN community for schools in the border provinces of southern Thailand

AbstractThe purpose of this research was to determine the important factors utilizing the key principles of the Input-Process-Output (IPO) framework in the administration of English Programs for schools in the border provinces of southern Thailand in response to the protocols and agenda of the ASEAN community in its education platforms. The research explored various methods that involved analysis and interpretation of the quantitative and qualitative data obtained from the prepared 5-point rating scale questionnaire, interviews, and observation, target group discussion, and consultation with experts. The respondents selected as the sample group were English Program administrators, teachers, students, and parents from 5 selected English Program schools in the border provinces of southern Thailand for the academic 2013 year.Based on results gathered from both qualitative and quantitative methods, the important factors under the concept of the IPO framework consisted of 21 factors:Support-resource input consisted of 3 factors: integrating the curriculum with ASEAN community content, using technology as an effective teaching aid, and maximizing various learning resources. Personnel-resource input contained 2 factors: having a school director with a strong vision and understanding of bilingual education, and investing in qualified and professional teachers. School-management process highlighted 8 key factors: management structure, policy/vision, community involvement, school-networks, utilization of modern technology and classroom management for self-access learning, staff development, cultivation of the culture of research in the academy and student-centered activities that promote competence and quality assurance. Learning-management process consisted of 3 factors: learning patterns in the use of English and Thai as media of instruction, learning-management style, and measurement and evaluation. Output or educational quality entailed 5 determinants: learning achievement, attainment of the desirable characteristics of the learners, educational roles in society and culture, achievement of English skills among target groups in aspects of communication and research, and knowledge of the ASEAN community

A General Chemistry Course for Prospective Elementary School Teachers

The paper describes a general chemistry course designed for students who are planning to become elementary school teachers. The course has been structured so as to transmit the fun and excitement of experiencing chemistry and uncovering its basic principles by centering on laboratory and other discovery experiences. In addition, the course uses peer led workshops in which the students discuss these experiences. The course is thus a product of a particularly strong collaboration between public schools and college faculties. It is going to become a part of a new four-course sequence that will be required of all students intending to earn elementary education certification at Lehman College

Securing Human Rights Intellectually: Philosophical Inquiries about the Universal Declaration

This article is intended for an edited volume in the series "The New Harvard Bookshelf: Towards a Liberal Education for the 21st Century." The purpose of that collection is to bring together articles that capture the basic ideas of various courses offered in the general education curriculum of Harvard College. This article is based on the syllabus of my course Human Rights: A Philosophical Introduction (ER11). It begins with a brief historical introduction to the human rights movement and to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, the main goal of this article is to explore three different approaches to arguing that human beings have rights in virtue of being human. I conclude with a few remarks on the universalism/relativism debate.