IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/tul/wpaper/2409.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Education Quality, Income Inequality, and Female Labor Force Participation in Brazil

Author

Listed:
  • John H.Y. Edwards

    (Tulane University)

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of education quality on income inequality among men and on female labor force participation. I introduce a new dataset on local education expenditures for a 64-year period. By matching education spending to the time and place where each person went to school, the data allow for a much more granular measurement of human capital differences than measures like level of schooling or years of school attainment. They also permit measurement of human capital differences and evolution over a much longer time period than the data that are typically available. I show that differences in the quality of education received during childhood become significant determinants of income differences among fully employed adult men. In a finding that is new to the literature, I report that school quality differentials are significant determinants of how adult women allocate their time between domestic labor and formal wage work.

Suggested Citation

  • John H.Y. Edwards, 2024. "Education Quality, Income Inequality, and Female Labor Force Participation in Brazil," Working Papers 2409, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:tul:wpaper:2409
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://repec.tulane.edu/RePEc/pdf/tul2409.pdf
    File Function: First Version, July 2024
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stephan Klasen, 2019. "What Explains Uneven Female Labor Force Participation Levels and Trends in Developing Countries?," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 34(2), pages 161-197.
    2. Robert E. Hall & Andreas I. Mueller, 2018. "Wage Dispersion and Search Behavior: The Importance of Nonwage Job Values," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 126(4), pages 1594-1637.
    3. Duryea, Suzanne & Ribas, Rafael P. & Sampaio, Breno & Sampaio, Gustavo R. & Trevisan, Giuseppe, 2023. "Who benefits from tuition-free, top-quality universities? Evidence from Brazil," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    4. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Introduction to "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings"," NBER Chapters, in: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, pages 1-4, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Morchio, Iacopo & Moser, Christian, 2018. "The Gender Pay Gap: Micro Sources and Macro Consequences," MPRA Paper 99276, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 24 Mar 2020.
    6. Morchio, Iacopo & Moser, Christian, 2018. "The Gender Pay Gap: Micro Sources and Macro Consequences," MPRA Paper 99276, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 24 Mar 2020.
    7. 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.
    8. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number minc74-1.
    9. Niklas Engbom & Christian Moser, 2022. "Earnings Inequality and the Minimum Wage: Evidence from Brazil," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(12), pages 3803-3847, December.
    10. Debraj Ray & Garance Genicot, 2023. "Measuring Upward Mobility," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 113(11), pages 3044-3089, November.
    11. Fernández, Manuel & Messina, Julián, 2018. "Skill premium, labor supply, and changes in the structure of wages in Latin America," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 555-573.
    12. Lam, David & Levison, Deborah, 1991. "Declining inequality in schooling in Brazil and its effects on inequality in earnings," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(1-2), pages 199-225, November.
    13. Altonji, Joseph G & Dunn, Thomas A, 1996. "Using Siblings to Estimate the Effect of School Quality on Wages," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(4), pages 665-671, November.
    14. Bedi, Arjun Singh & Edwards, John H. Y., 2002. "The impact of school quality on earnings and educational returns--evidence from a low-income country," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 157-185, June.
    15. Behrman, Jere R & Birdsall, Nancy, 1983. "The Quality of Schooling: Quantity Alone is Misleading," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(5), pages 928-946, December.
    16. C. Kirabo Jackson & Claire L. Mackevicius, 2024. "What Impacts Can We Expect from School Spending Policy? Evidence from Evaluations in the United States," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(1), pages 412-446, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Byoung Uk Kang & Jin-Mo Kim & Oded Palmon & Zhaodong Zhong, 2020. "Are college education and job experience complements or substitutes? Evidence from hedge fund portfolio performance," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 54(4), pages 1247-1278, May.
    2. Justin L. Tobias, 2003. "Are Returns to Schooling Concentrated Among the Most Able? A Semiparametric Analysis of the Ability–earnings Relationships," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 65(1), pages 1-29, February.
    3. Behrman, Jere R., 1996. "Measuring the effectiveness of schooling policies in developing countries: Revisiting issues of methodology," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 345-364, October.
    4. Angel de la Fuente & Antonio Ciccone, 2003. "Human capital in a global and knowledge-based economy," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 562.03, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC).
    5. Christian Bayer & Moritz Kuhn, 2023. "Job Levels and Wages," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1190, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    6. Morchio, Iacopo & Moser, Christian, 2018. "The Gender Pay Gap: Micro Sources and Macro Consequences," MPRA Paper 99276, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 24 Mar 2020.
    7. Rebecca Jack & Daniel Tannenbaum & Brenden Timpe, 2025. "The Parenthood Gap: Firms and Earnings Inequality After Kids," Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute Working Papers 110, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    8. Zhong, Hai, 2011. "Returns to higher education in China: What is the role of college quality?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 260-275, June.
    9. Fasih, Tazeen & Patrinos, Harry Anthony & Sakellariou, Chris, 2013. "Functional literacy, heterogeneity and the returns to schooling : multi-country evidence," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6697, The World Bank.
    10. Rosalia Castellano & Gennaro Punzo, 2011. "Education and Earnings Differentials: The Role of Family Background Across European Countries," Working Papers 28, AlmaLaurea Inter-University Consortium.
    11. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pb:p:2859-2939 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Khan, Bilal Muhammad, 2019. "Education Occupation Mismatch in Developing countries," MPRA Paper 92324, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, 2009. "Education and Earnings in The Middle East: A Comparative Study of Returns To Schooling in Egypt, Iran, and Turkey," Working Papers 504, Economic Research Forum, revised Sep 2009.
    14. Elizabeth M. King & Claudio E. Montenegro & Peter F. Orazem, 2012. "Economic Freedom, Human Rights, and the Returns to Human Capital: An Evaluation of the Schultz Hypothesis," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 61(1), pages 39-72.
    15. Mona Said & Fatma El-Hamidi, 2008. "Taking Technical Education Seriously in MENA: Determinants, Labor Market Implications and Policy Lessons," Working Papers 450, Economic Research Forum, revised 09 Jan 2008.
    16. Niklas Engbom & Christian Moser, 2017. "Returns to Education through Access to Higher-Paying Firms: Evidence from US Matched Employer-Employee Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 374-378, May.
    17. Balestra, Simone & Backes-Gellner, Uschi, 2017. "Heterogeneous returns to education over the wage distribution: Who profits the most?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 89-105.
    18. Hans‐Peter Y. Qvist & Anders Holm & Martin D. Munk, 2021. "Demand and Supply Effects and Returns to College Education: Evidence from a Natural Experiment with Engineers in Denmark," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 123(2), pages 676-704, April.
    19. Engbom, Niklas & Moser, Christian & Sauermann, Jan, 2023. "Firm pay dynamics," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 233(2), pages 396-423.
    20. Jorge Alvarez & Felipe Benguria & Niklas Engbom & Christian Moser, 2018. "Firms and the Decline in Earnings Inequality in Brazil," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(1), pages 149-189, January.
    21. Moser, Christian & Saidi, Farzad & Wirth, Benjamin & Wolter, Stefanie, 2020. "Credit Supply, Firms, and Earnings Inequality," MPRA Paper 100371, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Female Labor Force Participation; Women and Economic Development; Brazil; Education Quality; Income Distribution; Education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • N16 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Latin America; Caribbean

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:tul:wpaper:2409. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kerui Geng (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/detulus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.