Returns to Education in the Economic Transition : A Systematic Assessment Using Comparable Data

This paper examines the assertion that returns to schooling increase as an economy transitions to a market environment. This claim has been difficult to assess as existing empirical evidence covers only a few countries over short time periods. A nu...

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Main Authors: Flabbi, Luca, Paternostro, Stefano, Tiongson, Erwin R.
Format: Policy Research Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/05/7576044/returns-education-economic-transition-systematic-assessment-using-comparable-data
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7079
id okr-10986-7079
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-70792021-04-23T14:02:33Z Returns to Education in the Economic Transition : A Systematic Assessment Using Comparable Data Flabbi, Luca Paternostro, Stefano Tiongson, Erwin R. COLLEGE DEGREE COST OF EDUCATION EDUCATION FOR WOMEN EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT HIGH SCHOOL INTERVENTIONS LEVELS OF EDUCATION OCCUPATIONS PAPERS PRIVATE EDUCATION QUALITY OF EDUCATION RATES OF RETURN RETURNS TO EDUCATION RETURNS TO SCHOOLING SCHOOLING SCHOOLING LEVELS TUITION WESTERN EUROPE WORK EXPERIENCE WORKING HOURS This paper examines the assertion that returns to schooling increase as an economy transitions to a market environment. This claim has been difficult to assess as existing empirical evidence covers only a few countries over short time periods. A number of studies find that returns to education increased from the "pre-transition" period to the "early transition" period. It is not clear what has happened to the skills premium through the late 1990s, or the period thereafter. The authors use data that are comparable across countries and over time to estimate returns to schooling in eight transition economies (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Russia, Slovak Republic, and Slovenia) from the early transition period up to 2002. In the case of Hungary, they capture the transition process more fully, beginning in the late 1980s. Compared to the existing literature, they implement a more systematic analysis and perform more comprehensive robustness checks on the estimated returns, although at best they offer only an incomplete solution to the problem of endogeneity. The authors find that the evidence of a rising trend in returns to schooling over the transition period is generally weak, except in Hungary and Russia where there have been sustained and substantial increases in returns to schooling. On average, the estimated returns in the sample are comparable to advanced economy averages. There are, however, significant differences in returns across countries and these differentials have remained roughly constant over the past 15 years. They speculate on the likely institutional and structural factors underpinning these results, including incomplete transition and significant heterogeneity and offsetting developments in returns to schooling within countries. 2012-06-04T22:12:44Z 2012-06-04T22:12:44Z 2007-05 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/05/7576044/returns-education-economic-transition-systematic-assessment-using-comparable-data http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7079 English Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4225 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research Europe and Central Asia Slovak Republic Slovenia Czech Republic Bulgaria Hungary Latvia Russian Federation Poland
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic COLLEGE DEGREE
COST OF EDUCATION
EDUCATION FOR WOMEN
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
HIGH SCHOOL
INTERVENTIONS
LEVELS OF EDUCATION
OCCUPATIONS
PAPERS
PRIVATE EDUCATION
QUALITY OF EDUCATION
RATES OF RETURN
RETURNS TO EDUCATION
RETURNS TO SCHOOLING
SCHOOLING
SCHOOLING LEVELS
TUITION
WESTERN EUROPE
WORK EXPERIENCE
WORKING HOURS
spellingShingle COLLEGE DEGREE
COST OF EDUCATION
EDUCATION FOR WOMEN
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
HIGH SCHOOL
INTERVENTIONS
LEVELS OF EDUCATION
OCCUPATIONS
PAPERS
PRIVATE EDUCATION
QUALITY OF EDUCATION
RATES OF RETURN
RETURNS TO EDUCATION
RETURNS TO SCHOOLING
SCHOOLING
SCHOOLING LEVELS
TUITION
WESTERN EUROPE
WORK EXPERIENCE
WORKING HOURS
Flabbi, Luca
Paternostro, Stefano
Tiongson, Erwin R.
Returns to Education in the Economic Transition : A Systematic Assessment Using Comparable Data
geographic_facet Europe and Central Asia
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Czech Republic
Bulgaria
Hungary
Latvia
Russian Federation
Poland
relation Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4225
description This paper examines the assertion that returns to schooling increase as an economy transitions to a market environment. This claim has been difficult to assess as existing empirical evidence covers only a few countries over short time periods. A number of studies find that returns to education increased from the "pre-transition" period to the "early transition" period. It is not clear what has happened to the skills premium through the late 1990s, or the period thereafter. The authors use data that are comparable across countries and over time to estimate returns to schooling in eight transition economies (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Russia, Slovak Republic, and Slovenia) from the early transition period up to 2002. In the case of Hungary, they capture the transition process more fully, beginning in the late 1980s. Compared to the existing literature, they implement a more systematic analysis and perform more comprehensive robustness checks on the estimated returns, although at best they offer only an incomplete solution to the problem of endogeneity. The authors find that the evidence of a rising trend in returns to schooling over the transition period is generally weak, except in Hungary and Russia where there have been sustained and substantial increases in returns to schooling. On average, the estimated returns in the sample are comparable to advanced economy averages. There are, however, significant differences in returns across countries and these differentials have remained roughly constant over the past 15 years. They speculate on the likely institutional and structural factors underpinning these results, including incomplete transition and significant heterogeneity and offsetting developments in returns to schooling within countries.
format Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
author Flabbi, Luca
Paternostro, Stefano
Tiongson, Erwin R.
author_facet Flabbi, Luca
Paternostro, Stefano
Tiongson, Erwin R.
author_sort Flabbi, Luca
title Returns to Education in the Economic Transition : A Systematic Assessment Using Comparable Data
title_short Returns to Education in the Economic Transition : A Systematic Assessment Using Comparable Data
title_full Returns to Education in the Economic Transition : A Systematic Assessment Using Comparable Data
title_fullStr Returns to Education in the Economic Transition : A Systematic Assessment Using Comparable Data
title_full_unstemmed Returns to Education in the Economic Transition : A Systematic Assessment Using Comparable Data
title_sort returns to education in the economic transition : a systematic assessment using comparable data
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2012
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/05/7576044/returns-education-economic-transition-systematic-assessment-using-comparable-data
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7079
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