A statistical analysis using the social marginal product of labor to estimate the rate of return on investment in education instead of market earnings. (BC)

Household survey data from 11 Latin American countries and curriculum costs were used to estimate earnings differences by type of secondary education. In some countries, private vocational schooling had greater returns. Introducing the cost of curriculum and social returns results in much lower returns to vocational schooling. (SK)

Uses household survey data for 18 Latin American countries to assess earnings differentials by education level and to chart 1980s changes. Introducing cost of education allows private and social rates of return to education investment to be estimated by education level, gender, employment sector, curriculum type, duration. In most countries,…

Uses data from 1989 Uruguayan Household Survey to investigate earnings/education relationship. Mincerian earnings functions fitted to nearly 10,000 workers reveal a 9.2% private return rate for each extra year of schooling. Females realize a full percentage point over males; private sector employees enjoy a 5 percentage point advantage over public…

Uses household survey data from 12 Latin American countries to assess how teacher salaries compare to other workers' salaries. Results show great variability from one country to another. When statistical controls are introduced for the differential education, hours worked, and gender composition, the earnings differential between the two groups…

Uses 1990 Household Survey data for Paraguay to analyze the education-earnings relationship. Human capital characteristics account for about 40% of individual earnings variance; each extra year of schooling yields a private return rate of 11.5%. Social and private return rates are highest for primary education, followed by secondary education.…

Uses data from Venezuela's 1987 Household Survey to update returns to education and compare them to 1975 and 1984 figures. Returns to education have been maintained despite the educational explosion occurring in Venezuela during the period investigated. Although higher education is most heavily subsidized, primary education remains the most…

Examines various education-related aspects of Venezuela's labor market for 1975-1984, using a sample of 40,000 workers. Education returns have declined only two percent during a rapid educational expansion period. The increased supply of educated persons influenced the narrowing of earnings differentials and led to more equitable income…

Uses data from the 1987 Household Survey to explore the relationship between educating and earnings in Ecuador. Results indicate a sharp difference in the premium associated with higher education between males and females (favoring males). Those with primary education are rewarded relatively more in the public than the private sector. Includes 14…

An evaluation of the effects on employment of a new type of secondary school in Colombia offering prevocational subjects alongside the traditional curriculum is based on a follow-up survey of about 1,800 graduates three years after leaving school. Earnings differences between the two types of schools are slight. (Author/MLF)

Using data from the 1985 Buenos Aires (Argentina) Household Survey of 4,500 employed individuals, earnings differences are explained by a set of individual human capital characteristics. Returns to education investments are then estimated for different levels and types of schooling. Secondary and higher education investments need to be retargeted.…

Uses data from 1984, 1989, and 1992 household surveys to investigate the earnings/education relationship in Mexico. Time-series analysis results indicate that the returns to investment in education are depressed during an economic recession and rise again as economic growth resumes. Returns to education remain high, even after significantly…

Uses data from the 1989 Venezuelan Household Survey to assess macropriorities among educational investment in that country. An earnings analysis by educational level reveals persisting, if declining, advantages for the more educated. The cost-benefit analysis indicates that primary education yields the highest returns, whereas higher education…

Presents a taxonomy of research areas in educational economics and outlines key topics deserving more research attention. Emphasizes documenting the unit cost of education at different schooling levels and curriculum types, along with learning and earning schooling outcomes. Topics needing further research include the screening hypothesis,…

One of a series on educational planning, this booklet reviews the findings of several studies on the employment of university graduates in five developing countries: Egypt, Philippines, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia. Data for these studies were collected from samples of students and former graduates. A number of facets of the topic are investigated…