Technical education and training has been dramatically expanding in Brazil recently. However, there remains no evidence on the cost effectiveness of this alternative track to a more general education. This paper quantifies the wage returns of completing technical and vocational education and...

Recent research has convinced the author that once all the benefits are recognized, investment in the education of girls may be the highest return of investment available in the developing world. The author stresses five major points: (1) higher death rates are symptomatic of the more general...

In the mid 1980s, half of Colombia's rural schools did not offer complete primary education and more than half of rural children between the ages of 7 and 9 had never attended school. Unitary schools - multigrade classrooms taught by one teacher - were established in the early 1960s in isolated...

To achieve its goal of full enrollment of children aged six to eleven by 1990, and children aged six to fourteen by 1995, India must increase its enrollment from less than 80 percent to more than 100 percent in 10 years. Sustaining universal primary education also means reducing the high dropout...

Data from household surveys of 12 Latin American countries were used to assess how teachers'salaries compare with those of workers in other occupations. The results show that salaries vary among countries, ranging from an apparent 35 percent underpayment in Bolivia (compared with the contol...

The quality of education is a determining factor in a nation's competitiveness. To compete globally, Mexico needs to raise its education standards. Several innovations to raise the quality of basic education at the federal and state levels have been developed: professional training of teachers,...

Using statistical methods to adjust for a bias in selectivity, this paper analyzes the relative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of public schools and two types of private schools - elite and non-elite - in the Dominican Republic. Controlling for selection, it found that students in eighth...

A key consideration in the policy debate on the appropriate role of private schools in predominantly public school systems is cost effectiveness. The questions are: Do private school students learn more than their counterparts, and is it more or less expensive to educate students in private...

The author explores how schools change in response to increased competition generated by voucher programs in Chile. A unique data set provides information on teacher demographics and labor market characteristics, as well as teachers'perceptions of school management. When teacher data are matched...

Financial aid to students in tertiary education can contribute to human capital accumulation through two channels: increased enrollment and improved student performance. We analyze the quantitative importance of both channels in the context of a student loan program (SOFES) implemented at...