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Born with a silver spoon : inequality in educational achievement across the world

Author

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  • Balcazar, Carlos Felipe
  • Narayan, Ambar
  • Tiwari, Sailesh

Abstract

This paper assesses inequality of opportunity in educational achievement using the Human Opportunity Index methodology on data from the Programme for International Student Assessment. The findings suggest that there are large inequalities in learning outcomes as measured by demonstrated proficiency in Programme for International Student Assessment test scores in math, reading, and science. Differences in wealth, parental education, and area of residence explain a bulk of this inequality in most of the countries in the sample. Consistent with what has been documented previously in the literature, the paper also finds a strong and stable correlation between inequality of opportunity and public spending on school education. An exploration of the changes in inequality of opportunity between the 2009 and 2012 rounds of the Programme for International Student Assessment, using parametric and nonparametric techniques, suggests that there has been little progress.

Suggested Citation

  • Balcazar, Carlos Felipe & Narayan, Ambar & Tiwari, Sailesh, 2015. "Born with a silver spoon : inequality in educational achievement across the world," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7152, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7152
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Enriqueta Camps-Cura, 2019. "The Economic Geography of Human Capital in Twentieth-Century Latin America in an International Comparative Perspective," Palgrave Studies in Economic History, in: Changes in Population, Inequality and Human Capital Formation in the Americas in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, chapter 0, pages 61-85, Palgrave Macmillan.
    2. Enzo Valentini, 2024. "Patterns of Intergenerational Educational (Im)Mobility," Economies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-13, May.
    3. Enriqueta Camps & Stanley L. Engerman, 2016. "The Economic Geography of Human Capital in Twentieth-Century Latin America in an International Comparative Perspective," Working Papers 914, Barcelona School of Economics.
    4. Blagica Petreski & Marjan Petreski, 2018. "Analysis of the public spending on education and on social protection of children in the country," Finance Think Policy Studies 2018-12/20, Finance Think - Economic Research and Policy Institute.
    5. Nikica Mojsoska Blazevski & Marjan Petreski & Maja Ristovska, 2017. "Breaking Up the Vicious Cycle of Poverty: How Can the School Performance of Children from Low-Income Households in Macedonia Be Improved?," Croatian Economic Survey, The Institute of Economics, Zagreb, vol. 19(2), pages 5-46, December.
    6. Tista Kundu, 2023. "Inequality of Opportunity in Elementary Level School Education: Evidence from India," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 17(2), pages 253-270, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Teaching and Learning; Primary Education; Tertiary Education; Education For All; Inequality;
    All these keywords.

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