This paper uses a unique policy change in Ontario, Canada, to provide direct evidence on how reducing the length of high school would impact student performance in university. After a fiveyear educational program was eliminated from Ontario high schools and replaced with a fouryear program, two...

We exploit the forced closure of three segregated primary schools in Amsterdam to establish the determinants of school choice of ethnic minority pupils. The schools were closed due to mismanagement and poor assessment from the Education Inspectorate. Most of the affected students were of...

This paper assesses the impact on economic growth of increased efficiency of public spending in primary and lower-secondary education. Higher efficiency in publ ic spending in schools can bolster growth through two main channels. On the one hand, it can allow a transfer of labour from the public...

The recent wave of randomized trials in development economics has provoked criticisms regarding external validity. We investigate two concerns—heterogeneity across beneficiaries and implementers—in a randomized trial of contract teachers in Kenyan schools. The intervention, previously shown...

In this paper we propose an historical sketch of the evolution of the philosophy behind the European policies regarding education and training systems. We stress the latest evolutions as the knowledge-based economy perspective and the neo-schumpeterian perspective. We address some critical...