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Inequality of Learning in Industrialised Countries

Author

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  • Micklewright, John

    (University College London)

  • Schnepf, Sylke V.

    (European Commission, DG Joint Research Centre)

Abstract

Within-country differences in educational outcomes are compared for a large group of industrialised countries. We investigate where inequality is greatest, the association between inequality in learning and average levels of learning, the interpretation of measured levels of inequality, and differences in inequality at the top and bottom of the national distributions. Our analysis is based on test score data for 21 countries present in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). The use of three different surveys avoids reliance on a single source.

Suggested Citation

  • Micklewright, John & Schnepf, Sylke V., 2006. "Inequality of Learning in Industrialised Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 2517, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2517
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2005. "Do Cognitive Test Scores Explain Higher U.S. Wage Inequality?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(1), pages 184-193, February.
    3. Bedard, Kelly & Ferrall, Christopher, 2003. "Wage and test score dispersion: some international evidence," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 31-43, February.
    4. Micklewright, John & Schnepf, Sylke V., 2004. "Educational Achievement in English-Speaking Countries: Do Different Surveys Tell the Same Story?," IZA Discussion Papers 1186, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Kevin Denny, 2002. "New methods for comparing literacy across populations: insights from the measurement of poverty," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 165(3), pages 481-493, October.
    6. Giorgina Brown & John Micklewright & Sylke V. Schnepf & Robert Waldmann, 2007. "International surveys of educational achievement: how robust are the findings?," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 170(3), pages 623-646, July.
    7. Thomas, Vinod & Wang, Yan & Fan, Xibo, 2001. "Measuring education inequality - Gini coefficients of education," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2525, The World Bank.
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    9. Ludger Wößmann, 2003. "Schooling Resources, Educational Institutions and Student Performance: the International Evidence," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 65(2), pages 117-170, May.
    10. Pradhan, Menno & Sahn, David E. & Younger, Stephen D., 2003. "Decomposing world health inequality," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 271-293, March.
    11. UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. MONEE project, 2001. "A Decade of Transition," Papers remore01/15, Regional Monitoring Report.
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    Cited by:

    1. Das, Jishnu & Zajonc, Tristan, 2010. "India shining and Bharat drowning: Comparing two Indian states to the worldwide distribution in mathematics achievement," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(2), pages 175-187, July.
    2. Schnepf, Sylke V., 2008. "Inequality of Learning amongst Immigrant Children in Industrialised Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 3337, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Zlata Bruckauf & Yekaterina Chzhen & UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2016. "Education for All? Measuring inequality of educational outcomes among 15-year-olds across 39 industrialized nations," Papers inwopa843, Innocenti Working Papers.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    learning; inequality; education; TIMSS; PISA; PIRLS;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I39 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Other

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