The framework of an aggregate production function shows that growth of human capital is both a condition and a consequence of economic growth. The concurrent growth and diffusion of human capital, involving production of new knowledge, appears necessary to ensure sustained economic development worldwide. (TE)

Studies on Indonesia and the Philippines in this special issue examine how local financial control affects costs of providing primary schooling. In both countries, schools with greater financial decentralization operated more efficiently. These results have important implications for U.S. schools, where decentralization reforms in Kentucky and…

Critically analyzes the University of West Indies' admissions policy of increasing the share of undergraduate part-time students. Data on student grades in first-year social-science courses shows that part-time students are significantly more likely to fail these courses, due to lower motivation and greater time constraints. (10 references) (MLH)

This paper explores supply and demand determinants of the amount and distribution of schooling in prerevolution Nicaragua (1977-78). Findings suggest that the difference between rural and urban areas significantly affects schooling availability, but family background also accounts for variance in schooling here and in similar societies. (TE)

Describes a cost-benefit analysis of a proposed experimental program designed to solve Indonesia's serious dropout problem in elementary education. Discusses the data and methods used, the conclusions reached, and the unresolved questions that arise during evaluations carried out in less developed nations. (Author/RW)

Three strategic effects on the rates of return to vocational and technical education (VOTEC) are considered: (1) the availability of complementary inputs such as general education; (2) the capacity of VOTEC to teach continuing adaptation to technical change; and (3) economies of scale that can be realized. (26 references) (MLF)

The book "Marketizing Education and Health in Developing Countries," edited by Christopher Colclough, examines five salient aspects of education and health care (cost recovery, public versus private alternatives, cost shifting, improved efficiency, and fiscal reforms) useful for examining national privatization efforts. A marriage of…

Investigates effects of public versus private finance and management of education on school cost and efficiency, using school-level data on revenues, expenditures, enrollments, examination scores, and student characteristics from Indonesian primary schools. In poorly funded schools, more money tends to bring better school quality. Private funding…

Explores, from an economic perspective, elementary school system adequacy in the rural, indigenous Guatemalan highlands. Estimates least-squares coefficients and elasticities separately for academic failure and school abandonment for each of four indigenous groups. The model explains academic failure better than school desertion. A national policy…

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,…

Examines school enrollment and educational attainment in Kinshasa, Congo, focusing on how poverty, household structure, gender, and economic well-being affect investments in children's education. Increased economic well-being translates into greater attainment for both females and males, but does not necessarily reduce gender differences in school…

Compares graduates of the formal vocational and technical education (VTE) system in the Ivory Coast with those of informal apprenticeships, regarding job access, earnings, and the internal rate of return to investment in education. Promoting informal VTE could increase society's returns to educational expenditures and assist the informal sector's…

Presents an empirical study on misemployment (the underutilization of worker's skills acquired through vocational education) in Hong Kong. Analyzes earnings functions of graduates from various educational fields and for workers employed in various fields. Misemployed graduates received lower earnings than their colleagues working in matched work…

Examines the economic rationale for vocationalizing secondary education in China by comparing vocational education graduates' and general education graduates' performance in the workplace. Using Beijing Auto Industry Company data, the study found that vocational-technical education graduates engaged in factory work relevant to their previous…

Presents IV (instruments variables) estimates of returns to schooling for Honduran males by exploiting variation in schooling's availability at the time individuals were eligible to commence their education. IV estimates surpass ordinary least-squares estimates. Higher rate of return estimates are driven by greater schooling attainment and higher…