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School infrastructure spending and educational outcomes: Evidence from the 2012 earthquake in Northern Italy

Author

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  • Belmonte, Alessandro
  • Bove, Vincenzo
  • D’Inverno, Giovanna
  • Modica, Marco

Abstract

We explore whether investment in school infrastructure affects students’ achievement. We use data on extra funding to state high schools after the 2012 Northern Italy earthquake and apply a quasi-experimental design and an instrumental variable strategy. We find that spending on school infrastructure increases standardized test scores in Mathematics and Italian language, and the effect is stronger for lower-achieving students and in Mathematics. These results provide evidence in favor of a positive impact of capital spending in improving the learning environment and performances of high school students.

Suggested Citation

  • Belmonte, Alessandro & Bove, Vincenzo & D’Inverno, Giovanna & Modica, Marco, 2020. "School infrastructure spending and educational outcomes: Evidence from the 2012 earthquake in Northern Italy," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:75:y:2020:i:c:s0272775719300950
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2019.101951
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Akter, Sonia & Fauzia, Talitha & Pundit, Madhavi & Schroder, Marcel, 2022. "A Gender-Specific Earthquake Recovery Assessment Using Administrative and Satellite Data: The Case of Indonesia’s 2016 Aceh Earthquake," ADB Economics Working Paper Series 674, Asian Development Bank, revised 07 Feb 2023.
    3. Jean-Baptiste M.B. SANFO, 2025. "Application of explainable artificial intelligence approach to predict student learning outcomes," Journal of Computational Social Science, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-33, February.
    4. Liu, Xinyan & Xu, Yunjiao, 2021. "Unexpected opportunity for girls: Earthquake, disaster relief and female education in China's poor counties," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
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    6. Benjamin Kamga Fomba & Dieu Ne Dort Fokam Talla & Paul Ningaye, 2023. "Institutional Quality and Education Quality in Developing Countries: Effects and Transmission Channels," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(1), pages 86-115, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education; Infrastructure spending; High school; Italian school system;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance; Financial Aid
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare

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