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Does School Quality Matter? Returns to Education and the Characteristics of Schools in South Africa

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  • Anne Case
  • Motohiro Yogo

Abstract

This paper contributes to what is known about the impact of school quality, by documenting its effect on the incomes of Black South Africans, using data from the 1996 South African census and two national surveys of school quality. South Africa provides an interesting laboratory for studying the impact of school quality on labor market outcomes. Under the Apartheid system, Blacks faced extremely limited residential and school choices, which limits the extent to which results are attributable to the endogeneity of school and residential choice. In addition, Black schools' funding and staffing decisions were made rather arbitrarily by a White government that was at best indifferent to the needs of Black schools. Large differences in pupil/teacher ratios developed between Black schools, differences much larger than those observed in the United States. Using a two-state estimation procedure similar to that employed by Card and Krueger (1992) and by Heckman et al. (1996), we find that the quality of schools in a respondent's magisterial district of origin has a large and significant effect on the rate of return to schooling for Black men. The South African results are notable, moreover, because they are so similar to those estimated by Card and Krueger (1992) for the United States.

Suggested Citation

  • Anne Case & Motohiro Yogo, 1999. "Does School Quality Matter? Returns to Education and the Characteristics of Schools in South Africa," NBER Working Papers 7399, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:7399
    Note: CH PE
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. repec:fth:prinin:357 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Hanushek, Eric A & Rivkin, Steven G & Taylor, Lori L, 1996. "Aggregation and the Estimated Effects of School Resources," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(4), pages 611-627, November.
    3. Anne Case & Angus Deaton, 1999. "School Inputs and Educational Outcomes in South Africa," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(3), pages 1047-1084.
    4. T. Paul Schultz & Germano Mwabu, 1998. "Wage Premia for Education and Location, By Gender and Race in South Africa," Working Papers 785, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
    5. Card, David & Krueger, Alan B, 1992. "Does School Quality Matter? Returns to Education and the Characteristics of Public Schools in the United States," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(1), pages 1-40, February.
    6. David Card & Alan Krueger, 1996. "Labor Market Effects of School Quality: Theory and Evidence," Working Papers 736, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
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    8. Heckman, James & Layne-Farrar, Anne & Todd, Petra, 1996. "Human Capital Pricing Equations with an Application to Estimating the Effect of Schooling Quality on Earnings," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(4), pages 562-610, November.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development

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