This dissertation explores the effectiveness and consequences of three distinct education policies. The first chapter analyzes the effects of high school exit exams on graduation, employment and wage outcomes. We construct a state-graduation year cohort dataset using the Current Population Survey data, US Census data and information on the timing and difficulty of exit exams in different states. Using this dataset we analyze within-state variation in outcomes overtime. Overall, we find relatively modest effects of high school exit exams. We do not find consistent effects on graduation rates for exit exams that assess academic skills taught below the high school level; however, we find that more challenging standards-based exams reduce graduation rates. We also find that about one-half of the reduction in graduation rates associated with exit exams is offset by an increase in GED rates. Our analysis of labor market outcomes suggests that exit exams increase employment rates, but we find no effect of exit exams on the distribution of wages. Chapter two analyzes the institutional consequences of the California Class-Size Reduction (CSR) program. This program provides incentive funding if schools limit the class-size in grades K-3 to twenty or fewer students. We find that some schools and school districts limit their enrollment levels in order to maximize the CSR subsidy payment. In particular, the distribution of grade and district enrollments exhibits a prominent pattern of peaks that occur at multiples of twenty, where CSR payment is the largest. In order to achieve exact enrollment levels, schools must be reassigning students above the desired thresholds to nearby schools or nearby school districts. We also find that schools that limit their enrollments are well-performing schools with a low percentage of students who receive free or reduced price meals. The last chapter analyzes the academic consequences of the Texas Top 10 Percent Law. In 1998, state universities in Texas began using high school class rank as the sole factor in university admissions. This policy was implemented to increase enrollment of minority and economically disadvantaged students, but it generated criticism that such beneficiaries of rank-based admissions lack the academic preparation necessary to perform well in college. I test this claim by analyzing academic performance of rank-eligible students who attended UT Austin before and after the law. To account for grade inflation I use a difference-in-differences framework with students not eligible for rank-based admissions as controls. The difference-in-differences estimates may be overstated, however, because academic quality of the control group may have increased after the law. I use propensity score matching methods to correct for this. Finally, I correct for the confounding effects of GPA ceiling on the difference-in-differences estimates. Both the baseline and the adjusted estimates suggest that mean college GPA of rank-admitted students declined after the law.

This dissertation analyzes the determinants of labor market outcomes, with a focus on the labor market return to post-secondary education. The first chapter analyzes the matching of firms and recent college graduates through on-campus recruiting. Based on in-depth interviews with employers and career services personnel, I develop a theoretical model describing how firms choose target campuses given relevant search frictions. The model's central insight is that the decision to recruit at a university and the wage offer are driven not just by the university's quality, but also by the quality of the surrounding universities. There is strong empirical support for this prediction using the Baccalaureate and Beyond survey and newly collected data from 39 finance and consulting firms. Holding university quality constant, a university with a better regional rank is more likely to attract firms, and its graduates have higher earnings (controlling for the individual's test score). Structural estimation suggests that search frictions have important consequences for firm hiring strategies, student outcomes, and profits in this market. The second chapter analyzes whether there is a differential labor market return to certificates and Associate's degrees from for-profit relative to not-for-profit universities. Using the Beginning Postsecondary Student Survey and Transcript Data, we find no statistically significant differential return. Point estimates suggest a slightly lower return to a for-profit certificate and a slightly higher return to a for-profit Associate's degree. There is considerable variation in the return to certification across majors, including many with negligible or negative returns. The third chapter analyzes the impact of teen motherhood on labor market investments and outcomes, using five cycles of the National Survey of Family Growth. Teen mothers who conceived pre-maritally obtained less education (especially socioeconomically advantaged teens), married earlier and faced a higher risk of never marrying (especially after 1960). Socioeconomically advantaged teens avoided this negative outcome. Women who had been teen mothers in the 1940s and 1950s appear to have been at a disadvantage in the labor market of the 1970s, and faced higher costs of divorce. Motherhood positively affected labor force outcomes for teens married before conception, perhaps driven by earlier-timed births.

The education system in Oman underwent tremendous development during the past four decades, however, the national economy dependency on oil threatens the sustainability of its education funding. This study aims to explore the relationship between education funding and oil price fluctuations in Qatar, U.A.E., and Oman from 1975 to 2015. Moreover, it aims to suggest new economic alternatives to diversify the education funding sources in Oman. This quantitative study, under the framework of Human Capital Theory, utilized descriptive and associational approaches to study the association between oil prices and education expenditures in the three countries. Multiple regression analyses showed that oil prices significantly predicted the government expenditure on education in Oman and Qatar with (β = -0.40, p = 0.013) and (β = 2.47, p = 0.02) respectively, while it was not significant in predicting the government expenditure on education (β = 0.36, p = 0.40) in the U.A.E. This study highlighted how Qatar and U.A.E were successful in moving away from oil dependency. The researcher recommended that the Omani government must encourage the inflow of direct foreign investment into its education field, like establishment of new education hubs, educational cities, and opening new branches for some of the leading educational institutions from around the world. The researcher plans to conduct future qualitative research to enrich knowledge in this area.

Internships are an increasingly popular activity for university students wishing to learn about the world of work, and the term can encompass many types of opportunities for learning about industries, occupations, or simply the experience of a professional workplace. The present study examines students following full-time degree courses across a range of subjects, in internships that are not integrated into course requirements. Internships of this kind are often located within the ‘employability agenda’ for higher education, developing students’ transferable skills to enable them to make smooth transitions to knowledge work outside the university. University careers advisors therefore encourage these internships as a form of experiential learning, and the notion of student employability is implicitly accepted by policymakers and universities. Yet, little is known about how or what students learn in internships. This study, which took place over three summers, examines how six students from one university made sense of their ten-week summer internships in an investment bank. The students were interviewed prior to their internships, three times during the banking internship, and again on return to the university. Using conceptual tools from sociocultural theory, the study starts from an understanding of movement between university and workplace as a matter of transition, rather than transfer and application, of knowledge and skills from university to the workplace. Adopting the idea of the ‘figured world’ (Holland et al., 1998) permits examination of how the students engaged with the cultural world of the workplace setting, interpreting and engaging with the practices there, and experiencing identity struggles that were of significance to them. The findings reveal the lack of support for the students’ engagement both before and during their placements, and have implications for the careers advising given to students undertaking internships. The study therefore concludes with a presentation of the principles that underpin student experience of internships. Universities can assist this by providing more resources for guidance to students undertaking internships, by assisting them with developing an awareness of the motives that are inherent in the workplace, as well as their own motives and those of employers providing internships.

A proficiência e o fluxo de estudantes são desafios importantes a serem enfrentados pelos vários níveis de ensino no Brasil, em especial no ensino médio. Cientes desse desafio, setor público e sociedade civil têm buscado melhorar esses indicadores por meio de alguns programas. O programa Jovem de Futuro é uma dessas iniciativas. Direcionado às escolas públicas de ensino médio, o programa objetiva melhorar a proficiência e fluxo dos alunos por meio de um conjunto de ações focadas em capacitação para a gestão e auxílio financeiro para as escolas. Com o objetivo de verificar o impacto sobre esses resultados, as escolas participantes foram selecionadas por meio de um sorteio aleatório. O presente trabalho realizou análises de impacto desse programa em diferentes dimensões. As estimativas encontradas indicam que o programa teve impacto sobre as notas dos estudantes em quatro das cinco regiões participantes. Quando estatisticamente significante, esse impacto foi de no mínimo 0, 158? para língua portuguesa e 0, 176? em matemática. Com a intenção de entender se os impactos foram diferenciados para determinados grupos de estudantes e escolas, foram também realizadas análises de heterogeneidade. Os resultados apontaram que o programa não teve efeitos diferenciados para os perfis de estudantes analisados. Por outro lado, quando os perfis de escolas são analisados, as estimativas apontam que os estudantes de escolas com melhores indicadores no período pré-tratamento podem ter sido mais beneficiados. O trabalho também realizou a análise de impacto para a probabilidade de evasão e reprovação dos estudantes tratados. Os resultados apontaram que o tratamento diminuiu as chances de evasão e reprovação em regiões onde o programa estabeleceu metas para esses fatores. Finalmente, diante das diferentes direções de impacto sobre notas e fluxo, realizou-se também uma análise de impacto sobre o IDEB. As análises indicaram que em locais onde a piora do fluxo foi relevante os resultados no IDEB não avançaram da mesma maneira do que nas notas dos estudantes. / Low tests scores and low graduation rates are examples of educational challenges in Brazil, especially if we refer to secondary students. Public policies have been created to improve these indices and the \"Jovem de Futuro\" program is one example. We analyzed details of this program to understand if and how it works. \"Jovem de Futuro\" has been a program focused on support for public secondary schools. It provides training for principals and teachers to improve school management and funding for schools. In addition, a randomized controlled trial was designed for selection of treated schools, which ensured our ability to perform a causality analysis. Our results indicate that the program improves student performance in language (Portuguese) and mathematics tests. The scores of treated students increased about 0.2?. Furthermore, we did not find any difference in the performance of students when we grouped them, for example, by sex or race. Our analysis also indicates that students perform better if they are from schools with better previous results. Because repetition and dropout rates are a real problem in schools of secondary level in Brazil, we estimated how effective the program was at changing these rates. Our results indicate repetition and dropout probabilities fell if students are from schools that received goals to improve these rates. On the other hand, if schools did not receive any goal, dropout and repetition probability from students in treated schools increased. Finally, because of these mix effects - better test performance and worse repetition and dropout rates - we calculated and estimated the impact in the Index of Development of Basic Education (IDEB). This index put together: performance in tests and rates of students approved. Our results show that the impact on this index was lower than in the student tests performance in schools from areas with lower approbation rates.

Conforme aponta a literatura, alta rotatividade de professores pode dificultar o desenvolvimento do trabalho da equipe escolar, com possíveis consequências prejudiciais para a aprendizagem dos alunos, e sinalizar outros problemas na escola, como condições de trabalho relativamente ruins. Esta dissertação tem o objetivo de investigar os determinantes da rotatividade docente na rede estadual de São Paulo, usando os dados dos Censos Escolares de 2007-2011 e considerando a estrutura institucional da rede. A descrição da rotatividade coletiva no nível das escolas evidenciou o alto nível da rotatividade paulista em âmbito nacional, bem como que a maior parcela da rotatividade é explicada pela migração de professores entre escolas. A análise da estrutura institucional da rede revelou que existem políticas com potencial de afetar à mobilidade docente, como o adicional por local de exercício (ALE) e a bonificação por resultados, e que a Secretaria da Educação do Estado (SEE) tem buscado elevar os custos de migração interna da rede. Revelou também que parcela da rotatividade docente até 2010 pode ser vista como estrutural, na medida em que quase metade dos professores não tinha vínculo com a escola e, por isso, não tinha garantia de continuidade na mesma de um ano para outro. Há evidências de que o professor que mais migra tem menor qualificação e de que o aluno mais afetado por equipes escolares mais instáveis é o de menor nível socioeconômico, principalmente nas séries iniciais do fundamental. Dentre as políticas da SEE, a Bonificação por Resultados está associada à menor rotatividade em todas as etapas escolares (ensino fundamental e médio), porém seu efeito é pequeno, e o ALE parece ajudar a fixar o professor do fundamental I nas escolas. / According to the literature, high teacher turnover can be detrimental to school work, with possible damaging consequences to student learning, and indicate underlying problems, as relatively poor work conditions. The goal of this dissertation is to investigate the determinants of teacher turnover at schools managed by São Paulo State government using data from Censo Escolar 2007 to 2011 and considering the institutional features of the school administration. São Paulo has high collective turnover rates by schools compared to other Brazilian States and migration between schools accounts for most of the total teacher turnover. Between the relevant institutional features of the school administration are the existence of policies related to turnover, as the teacher bonus and the adicional por local de exercício (ALE), and the fact that the Education Department has increased the migration costs between schools. Also we can view the teacher turnover of São Paulo State as partly structural, because half of the teachers did not have a stable link with schools until 2010. There is evidence that the migrant teacher is less qualified and that schools serving economically disadvantaged and black students appear more vulnerable to turnover, especially elementary schools (first grades of ensino fundamental). The teacher bonus is associated negatively to turnover, but its marginal effect is very small, and ALE seems to help to retain teachers in elementary schools.

O objetivo do presente estudo é contribuir para a identificação do efeito causal de reduções no tamanho da classe e ampliação da jornada escolar sobre o rendimento escolar em matemática dos estudantes brasileiros da 4ª série do ensino fundamental de escolas de área urbana da rede pública de ensino. Para tanto, foram utilizados a metodologia de Generalized Propensity Score Matching, no caso em que o tratamento de interesse (tamanho da classe) é uma variável contínua, e o estimador Nearest Neighbor Matching com correção de viés para tratamento binário (jornada escolar). A base de dados empregada foi o Sistema de Avaliação da Educação Básica (SAEB), realizada pelo Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anísio Teixeira (INEP), referente ao ano de 2005. Os resultados sugerem a existência de um efeito positivo do aumento da jornada escolar sobre o desempenho escolar. A ampliação de quatro para cinco horas na jornada diária dos estudantes está associada a um aumento de 8,36 pontos na proficiência em matemática ou, equivalentemente, um movimento de 0,20 desvios-padrão na distribuição de notas. No caso do tamanho da classe, o efeito estimado de uma redução de 38 para 30 é de 10,67 pontos, um movimento de 0,26 desviospadrão na distribuição de proficiência. Num segundo momento, os custos associados a essas duas políticas foram avaliados, em contraposição aos benefícios, por meio de uma análise de custo-efetividade. Os resultados indicaram que a ampliação da jornada escolar de quatro para cinco horas diárias possui a maior razão benefício/custo, comparativamente às políticas de redução do tamanho da classe, quando as classes têm 33 alunos ou menos. Para classes maiores, a política de redução das classes é mais custo-efetiva. / This dissertation aims to contribute to the identification of the causal effect of class size reduction and school hours increase on student achievement. It focuses on Brazilian basic education students from public schools located at urban areas. The Generalized Propensity Score Matching methodology for continuous treatment and the Nearest Neighbor Matching with bias correction were applied to estimate the treatment effect of class size reduction and school hours increase, respectively. The dataset used in the analysis was the National Basic Evaluation System (SAEB) carried out by the National Institute for Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (INEP) in 2005. The results suggest that there is a positive school hours effect on student achievement. When the instruction time is increased from four to five hours, the corresponding increase in math test scores is 8.36 points or, equivalently, a 0.20 standard deviation movement on the grade distribution. In addition, the estimated class size effect of a reduction from 38 to 30 students is 10.67 points or, equivalently, a 0.26 standard deviation movement on the grade distribution. After estimations, a cost-effectiveness analysis was carried out in order to confront costs and benefits of these interventions. The results show the school hours increase is more cost-effective when class size is 33 or smaller. Otherwise, the class size reduction is more cost-effective.

This thesis is composed by three independent essays in economics of education, which aim to assess the impact of different public policies in Brazil. The first chapter studies the effects of a government scholarship program for low-income college students, the Prouni. Propensity score matching based on observable student characteristics and a proxy for previous student performance is used to deal with selection effects. The results are robust across different specifications, and suggest that students who received a scholarship perform better and take less time to reach their final year of college than comparable students. The estimated effects are higher among students with full scholarships than for students with partial scholarships, indicating that the amount of aid received matters. Results also indicate that full scholarship recipients also have a lower probability of working while in college. The second chapter provides evidence on a large-scale pay for performance program in the state of São Paulo, which awarded group bonuses to school teachers and staff conditional on improvements in student performance. Results using a difference-in-differences and triple-differences framework show that the program had overall positive effects on student performance, although improvements vary across grades and subjects. Although it could be expected that free-riding effects increase with the number of teachers in schools, thereby limiting the impact of the program, this effect seems to be modest. Results also show that initially low-performing schools improved much more than the average. The third chapter analyzes whether the provision of information on school quality affects students\' school choices. More specifically, it explores whether the publication of grades obtained at a standardized high school test (the Enem) resulted in changes in enrollments in high- and low-performing schools. A sharp regression discontinuity design is used, taking advantage of the fact that an exogenous rule determined that only schools with a minimum number of test-takers would have their results published. The results show that the disclosure of school grades did not significantly affect enrollment decisions, in neither private nor public schools. The findings remain unchanged when controlling for the degree of competition faced by schools or their socio-economic environment. / Esta tese é composta por três ensaios independentes em economia da educação, que têm como objetivo avaliar o impacto de diferentes políticas públicas no Brasil. O primeiro capítulo estuda os efeitos do Prouni, um programa que oferece bolsas para estudantes de baixa renda no ensino superior. A metodologia usada para lidar com efeitos de seleção é a de propensity score matching, com base em características observáveis dos alunos e uma proxy para desempenho inicial. Os resultados, que são robustos a diferentes especificações, mostram que os bolsistas têm melhor desempenho e levam menos tempo para chegar ao último ano de faculdade do que alunos comparáveis. Os efeitos estimados são maiores para bolsistas integrais do que para bolsistas parciais, sugerindo que o valor da bolsa é relevante. Os resultados também indicam que os bolsistas integrais têm probabilidade menor de trabalhar durante a faculdade. O segundo capítulo apresenta evidências empíricas relativas ao efeito do programa de incentivos para professores do Estado de São Paulo, no qual foram distribuídos bônus de grupo para professores e funcionários em função da melhora do desempenho dos alunos. Neste capítulo é usado o método de diferenças em diferenças e de diferenças triplas. Os resultados sugerem que o programa teve efeitos positivos sobre o desempenho dos alunos, no entanto, os efeitos encontrados variam entre séries e matérias. Embora poderia esperar-se que em escolas com um maior número de professores efeitos de free-riding sejam mais fortes e limitem o efeito da política, este efeito não parece ser importante. O estudo mostra também que escolas com desempenho inicialmente baixo apresentaram melhoras mais importantes do que a média. O terceiro capítulo analisa se a divulgação de informações sobre a qualidade das escolas afeta as escolhas dos alunos. Mais especificamente, procura-se saber se a divulgação das notas obtidas no Enem (Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio) afetou o volume de matrículas em escolas com alto e baixo desempenho. A metodologia usada é a de regressão descontínua, com base em uma regra exógena que determinou que somente as escolas com um número mínimo de alunos que fizeram a prova teriam seus resultados divulgados. Os resultados indicam que a divulgação de notas a nível de escolas não teve impacto significativo sobre as decisões de matrícula, tanto no caso de escolas privadas como públicas. Os resultados se mantêm quando é levado em consideração o grau de concorrência enfrentado pelas escolas, ou o seu ambiente socioeconômico.

O retorno do ensino superior tem sido objeto de estudo na literatura econômica por décadas, mas pouca evidência foi documentada sobre o prêmio salarial de frequentar as universidades mais seletivas no mercado de trabalho. Especialmente no Brasil, país no qual o ensino superior é visto como o fator primordial para a ascensão social, torna-se cada vez mais relevante compreender o papel do diploma de elite nos rendimentos futuros. Neste trabalho, estima-se o prêmio salarial de frequentar a Universidade de São Paulo (USP), uma das universidades mais importantes e seletivas do país, aproveitando-se dos grupos dos aprovados e não aprovados ao redor da nota final de corte. Como estratégia empírica, utiliza-se a abordagem de regressões descontínuas (fuzzy RD) para solucionar possíveis problemas de seleção frequentemente discutidos na literatura. Na amostra de indivíduos empregados no setor formal, não se observa retorno salarial significativo de frequentar a USP. No entanto, o contrafactual é amplo e possivelmente inclui cursos superiores qualificados, como os oferecidos por outras instituições públicas. Isso, aliado à localidade da estimação, pode subestimar o efeito agregado. Ao investigar as maiores carreiras do vestibular, poucas apresentam retorno diferente de zero nas medidas salariais (rendimento médio anual e salário médio de dezembro). Contudo, não é possível excluir que diferenças salariais possam existir em regimes de trabalho mais flexíveis, como nas profissões liberais, ou que o mercado assalariado não distingua instituições de nível superior, uma vez que apenas salários formais são considerados na estimação. Por grupo socioeconômico, candidatos que fizeram ensino médio e fundamental estritamente em escola pública apresentam retornos positivos de frequentar a USP. Não foram encontradas diferenças de retorno salarial entre homens e mulheres nem entre PPI (pretos, pardos ou indígenas) e brancos. Por fim, também não são documentados efeitos sobre tempo de emprego formal e número de vínculos empregatícios. Os resultados encontrados incitam uma série de discussões sobre políticas educacionais, especialmente aquelas relacionadas à expansão de vagas no ensino superior. / The return to higher education has been studied in the literature for decades, but there is little evidence regarding the wage premium of attending the most selective universities in the labor market. Especially in Brazil, where higher education is a crucial element to upward mobility, a broader comprehension about the role of the elite degree in future earnings becomes even more relevant. Hence, I estimate the wage premium of attending the University of São Paulo (USP), one of the largest and most selective universities in the country, by taking advantage of two groups around the admission grade cutoff - those admitted and those not admitted at the university. This study utilizes the Regression Discontinuity Design (fuzzy RD) to solve possible selection problems frequently discussed by the literature. In the sample of those employed in formal sector, there is no significant wage return to attending USP with respect to the counterfactual. However, the counterfactual is broad and possibly includes qualified majors, such as those offered by other public universities. This fact, combined with local estimates, can underestimate the aggregate effect. When investigating the returns in the major careers of the college entrance exam, few of them exhibit returns different from zero in the wage measures (average annual income and the average salary in December). Yet, it is not possible to exclude that wage differences might exist in more flexible work relationships, as in the liberal professions, or that the formal labor market does not distinguish higher education institutions, since we only have earnings data from formal employment. When taking socioeconomic groups into account, only candidates who studied exclusively in public schools present positive returns to attending USP. There were no differences in the wage returns neither between men and women nor between non-white and white candidates. Finally, there are no effects on formal employment tenure and number of employment relationships. The results documented in this paper trigger a series of debates regarding educational policies, especially those related to the expansion of higher education.

La lutte contre les inégalités scolaires est l’un des fondements de l’éducation en France. La mise enoeuvre de l’égalité des chances, la lutte contre les inégalités sociales et territoriales à l’école sont inscrites dans le premier article du code de l’éducation. Cependant, les inégalités scolaires persistent et tendent à s’accroître ces dernières années. À l’aide de troisessais mobilisant trois bases de données (PISA, Cedre et TALIS) d’évaluations internationales et nationales, cette thèse souhaite apporter un regard nouveau sur la compensation des inégalités pour les élèves scolarisés dans le secondaire en France. / The fight against educational inequality is one of the foundational principles of education in France. Implementing equal opportunity and the fight against social and geographical inequality are inscribed in the first article in the Code of Education. However, educational inequality persists and has continued to increase these past years. Using data sets from threedifferent international and national evaluations (PISA, Cedre, and TALIS), this dissertation seeks to bring a new perspective on the reduction of inequality for students enrolled in secondary education in France.