This study uses rich empirical data from Brazil to assess how a government program (PDE) that decentralizes school management decisions changes what goes on in schools and how these changes affect student outcomes. It appears that the PDE resulted in some improvements in management and learning materials, but little change in other areas including…

Exploits a unique data set (EDRURAL) from three northeastern states of Brazil to investigate the complementarities of health with school attainment and cognitive achievement. The promotion models and value-added achievement models demonstrate the value of students' visual acuity. Achievement models highlight the role of good nutrition. Eye…

Earnings functions have been widely used to estimate the returns to education and training. Many studies have relied on the Mincerian specification for the earnings function, which embodies several assumptions. A study of Brazilian workers' wages finds that the Mincerian specification yields upwardly biased estimates of the returns to education,…

Estimates the returns to schooling in Brazil in 1980, by fitting earnings functions to census microdata. The average private rate of return has fallen by about one-third from 1970 but still remains a respectable 12 to 13 percent. When schooling levels are disaggregated, the lowest private rates emerge for primary education, and the highest for…