高等教育與經濟發展具有密切的關係，高等教育提供經濟建設的人才，而經濟發展則常為高等教育改革的重要參考指標。中國大陸高等教育與經濟發展，主要是從文革結束後，才產生緊密的關係。市場經濟的實行，使得中國大陸高等教育各方面都受到衝擊與變化，這至少包括教育思想與理論、高校中人才的建設、科系結構的調整等等。換句話說，在市場經濟的影響下，高等教育已很難擺脫經濟發展的衝擊。另一方面，經濟持續地成長使得社會急需受過高等教育的人才，而生活的日益改善，人們也對高等教育表達需求的願望。不過，大陸高等教育卻嚴重存在著需求大於供給的情形，大部份的人仍是無法進入大學就讀。而影響著大陸高等教育供給與需求的因素，在本文中至少探討了以下幾項變數，工資、待業率、人均收入、高中畢業生數、師生比、大學生單位成本、高等學校平均規模等等，經過分析研究顯示，這些影響高等教育的供需因素，仍與大陸經濟發展具有密切關係。高等教育與經濟發展的同時，高等教育入學的機會是否均等受著人們的關注。文革以前，高等教育的入學資格常取決於學生的政治成份與家庭背景，而造成入學的機會不公。文革結束後，在「一部份人先富起來」的政策下，有錢的人無疑地將較容易進入大學就讀，亦會形成不公，因此如何平衡經濟效律與社教育公平也是一項重大的課題。

La letteratura economica che affianca il principio di eguaglianza delle opportunità suggerisce l’introduzione dei valori libertari e di autonomia nella valutazione del benessere sociale. Questa teoria non si concentra sulla semplice eguaglianza tra i cittadini in termini di reddito, salute, utilità ma valuta l’eguaglianza delle loro opportunità affinché esiti plurimi possano essere raggiunti unicamente sulla base dell’impegno dei singoli individui. Nel primo capitolo ripercorriamo attraverso una breve carrellata le indicazioni provenienti da economisti e filosofi della politica che hanno trattato questo argomento nel corso degli ultimi decenni. Nel secondo capitolo ci occupiamo della misurazione della eguaglianza delle opportunità studiando differenti metodologie che coinvolgono l’indice di Atkinson e i suoi sviluppi in termini di eguaglianza. Il terzo capitolo prosegue invece attraverso una analisi empirica sulla salute. I risultati suggeriscono come le decisioni individuali riguardanti il fumo, considerato come un fattore di responsabilità, influenzino gravemente la salute degli individui rispetto alla loro condizione familiare. Il capitolo 4 studia invece l’interazione tra eguaglianza delle opportunità ed efficienza nel mercato del credito dimostrando come, oltre ad una palese violazione del principio egalitario, esistano anche problematiche di efficienza come surrogato delle dinamiche discriminatorie dovute alle asimmetrie informative. / The economic literature on equality of opportunity suggests non-welfarist foundations of social choice introducing the concepts of freedoms and liberties of individuals in the assessment of social welfare. The opportunity egalitarian principle does not focus on equality of outcomes but essentially on equality of means to realize those outcomes, i.e., it places some responsibilities on individuals to decide how much effort to pay in order to exploit the opportunity offered to them. This concept refers to be a part of conventional wisdom and has a long tradition and wide acceptance. On these grounds chapter 1 is devoted to a review of the most recent research on equality of opportunity. Some economists and political philosophers have argued that, in examining distributional questions, instead of focusing on differences in observed incomes or current levels of welfare, it is more appropriate to focus on the choice or opportunity sets that individuals face. Chapter 2 focus on the measurement of the degree of equality of opportunity based on alternative decompositions of the Atkinson index of equality according to welfare theory approach. In chapter 3 we address a measurement in health using data from the British Household Panel Survey (1996-2005). Our results suggest a great incidence of the direct effect of the individual behaviors in terms of lifestyles reducing the indirect contribution of social background. Public health programs are more likely to produce results if targeted on individual responsibility. A different point at issue is tackled in chapter 4 where we introduce the relationship between equality of opportunity and efficiency in the credit market. We show that richer individuals participate more in the credit market even when relatively more averse to effort violating the equality of opportunity principle. Moreover, we find that marginal richer borrowers exert less effort than poorer ones in equilibrium. Empirical evidence in Italy points to a limited impact of policy measures aimed at increasing credit opportunities without targeting accurately the beneficiaries.

This Ph.D. thesis in Economics consists of five self-contained chapters that investigate the role of gender and family background in generating socioeconomic inequality. Occupational segregation by sex: The role of intergenerational transmission studies the persistence of the occupational sex segregation by investigating intergenerational associations in the sex composition of occupations. Gender differences in initiation of negotiation: Does the gender of the negotiation counterpart matter? experimentally examines how the gender difference in the willingness to enter a negotiation is affected by the gender of the counterpart in the negotiation. The importance of family background and neighborhood effects as determinants of crime estimates sibling and neighborhood correlations in criminal convictions and incarceration. IQ and family background: Are associations strong or weak? examines sibling and intergenerational correlations in IQ. Gender and inequality of opportunity in Sweden explores to what extent income inequality is due to factors beyond individuals' control, such as gender and parental income. / <p>Diss. Stockholm :  Stockholm School of Economics, 2014. Introduction together with 5 papers.</p>

Les bourses d'enseignement supérieur constituent un dispositif clef de la politique d'enseignement en France. L'objectif de ces bourses est d'assurer l'égalité d'accès aux différentes formations de l'enseignement supérieur. Ces bourses se répartissent en plusieurs types et couvrent près de 38 % de la population étudiante. Elles sont essentiellement attribuées en fonction de la situation socio-économique de l'étudiant et de sa famille. Le budget des bourses de l'enseignement supérieur s'élève à environ 1,8 milliards d'euros en 2011 et s'inscrit dans un budget de l'État pour l'action sociale en faveur des étudiants de plus de 5.4 milliards d'euros. Cette recherche se propose d'analyser le système de bourses d'enseignement supérieur basées sur des critères sociaux en France, à travers une étude approfondie de la population des étudiants ayant déposé une demande de bourse entre 1999 et 2009. Dans un contexte européen tourné vers l'économie de la connaissance, dans un contexte national donnant la priorité à l'enseignement supérieur, et suite à la mise en place d'une importante réforme des bourses en 2008, ce travail de recherche analyse le fonctionnement du système des bourses et son évolution au cours des quinze dernières années. Cette recherche apporte une nouvelle approche de l'évaluation de la décision d'attribution de bourse. Elle analyse en détail les modifications survenues suite à la mise en œuvre de la réforme de 2008 et étudie leurs impacts sur la prise de décision et sur la population des boursiers. Elle propose, enfin, un cadre de pilotage de la politique des bourses en se basant sur un ensemble d'indicateurs construits dans le cadre de cette recherche. / Higher education grants constitute a key provision of the education policy in France intended to ensure equal student access to various fields in higher education. These scholarships are divided into several types, cover about 38 % of the student population enrolled in higher education, and are mainly allocated according to the socio-economic situation of the student and the student family. In 2011, the state budget for social action for students was more than 5.4 billion Euros, with approximately 1.8 billion Euros in funding directed to scholarships in higher education. Among the various funding components, financial aid has witnessed the most increase in its share in recent years. This research aims to analyze the system of higher education grants in France based on social criteria, through a detailed study of the population of students who applied for a grant between 1999 and 2009. With the European context moving towards the 'economy of knowledge', with the national context giving priority to higher education, and following the establishment of a fundamental reform of the higher education grants system in Fa1l2008. This research analyzes the evolution of the funding granting policy since 1999 vis-a-vis the stated objectives. The work introduces a new approach for evaluating the decision of granting a scholarship. It analyzes in detail the changes that occurred after the implementation of the 2008 reform and examines their impact on the above decision making, and on the population of students receiving a scholarship. Finally, it offers a framework to steer the granting mechanism based on a set of indicators constructed in the context of this research.

The Swedish school system has had a long tradition of equality and later on, equivalence, where the municipalities have a large responsibility as well as freedom in ensuring that children receive an equivalent education. During some time however, results have shown an increased importance of aspects such as family background and residential segregation for the children’s performances and hence a failing equivalence. The research question for this paper is: How do municipalities interpret their national obligation of ensuring equivalence in school? By preforming case studies in three municipalities with three different organizations, written sources and interviews allow for an in-depth analysis of the organizations in relation to equivalence. Looking at the challenges for an equivalent school today in combination with theories about equality in opportunity and equality in outcome, an analytical tool is created which is used to analyze the municipalities in a comparable way. This paper shows how the interpretations of the national obligation of ensuring equivalence in the three municipalities can be understood in regards to two dimensions – to what extent a municipality is compensating for the children’s family background in their organization and if the municipality prioritize an individual or a collective understanding of equivalence in their organization. The paper illustrates how a to vague legislation about equivalence may lead to very different organizations that in turn may threaten the national goal of equivalence.

South African universities have embarked upon a wide range of initiatives to foster and acclimatise to new social development needs of the society. A significant area of change involved implementation of employment equity. This study investigated the manner in which universities manage employment equity.The composition of staff in higher education institutions fails to reflect the demographic realities of South Africa.As a result, black people and women are still severely under-represented, especially in senior academic management positions. Universities are slowly, but steadily redirecting their student bodies and staff to reflect the demographics of South African society applying fragmented effort and piecemeal approach. The “as is” statistical reports obtained from the Department of Labour were used to substantiate the progress being made in the selected universities. Quantitative research methods were employed to collect data. University of Pretoria, University of Witwatersrand, and Free State University were selected as the population and the academic managers (Heads of Departments, Directors of Schools, and Deans of Faculties) as the sample of the study. The study finds that white males still dominate in the universities and white females are adequately represented, particularly in the professional and academic categories. The academic managers responded less positively on retention strategies for academic staff, especially for the designated groups and the functionality of employment equity awareness campaigns. The study also outlined the success of employment equity factors that the academic managers indicated, such as their loyalties to the institutions, prospects of career development, and collegial relations. The study recommended proficient leadership to drive the employment equity process, development of employment equity strategy with reasonable goals, diversity management, retention strategy, and vigorous employment equity awareness. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

Die vorliegende Dissertation beschäftigt sich modelltheoretisch mit drei Themenbereichen aus dem Feld der Bildungsforschung. Das erste Kapitel behandelt die Existenz von Studiengebühren. Bei der persönlichen Entscheidung für oder gegen ein Studium sind Studiengebühren ein Nachteil, vor allem, wenn dafür kein Angebot in Form von besseren Studienbedingungen existiert. Andererseits ist das Studium nicht nur eine finanzielle Entscheidung, sondern kann auch Nutzen in anderer Form wie Status oder Prestige bedeuten. Wenn der Status negativ von der Anzahl der Absolventen abhängt, könnte es von Vorteil sein, die Menge an Studenten künstlich durch Studiengebühren zu reduzieren. Es wird ein Modell präsentiert, in dem in einem statischen Gleichgewicht wohlhabendere und fähigere Studenten für höhere Studiengebühren stimmen, um die Absolventenzahl zu verknappen und den Status zu erhöhen. Das darauffolgende Kapitel enthält eine Erweiterung eines Signaling-Modells zur Notenvergabe. Das ursprüngliche Modell kommt zu dem Ergebnis, dass Noteninflation unausweichlich ist, da gute Noten der Schule keine Kosten verursachen. Es existiert aber in der Realität ein gegenläufiger Effekt: Noteninflation hat Einfluss auf die Reputation einer Schule und führt daher bei zukünftigen Absolventen zu einer Erwartungsanpassung der Arbeitgeber. Die Erweiterung des Modells zeigt, dass Noteninflation mit Reputation verringert oder sogar vermieden werden kann. Im letzten Kapitel wird ein Modell präsentiert, das den Einfluss eines separierenden Schulsystems und eines Gesamtschulsystems auf die akademische Leistung abbildet. Es wird zwischen einer Anfangsfähigkeit eines Schülers unterschieden, die hauptsächlich durch die Familienherkunft bestimmt wird, und der Lernfähigkeit eines Schülers. Dabei wird gezeigt, dass die Leistung schlechterer Schüler in der Gesamtschule steigen kann, selbst wenn es keine Synergieeffekte zwischen guten und schlechten Schülern gibt. Der Effekt entsteht, da die Gesamtschule einen Kompromiss im Anspruchsniveau finden muss, welcher höher ist als das Anspruchsniveau in der separierten, schlechteren Klasse. Wenn die schlechteren Schüler die größere Lernfähigkeit besitzen, erhöht sich in der Gesamtschule sogar die Durchschnittsleistung aller Schüler.

Public transport policies play a key role in shaping the social and spatial structure of cities. These policies influence how easily people can access opportunities, including health and educational services and job positions. The accessibility impacts of transport policies thus have important implications for social inequalities and for the promotion of just and inclusive cities. However, in the transportation literature, there is still little theoretically informed understanding of justice and what it means in the context of transport policies. Moreover, few studies have moved beyond descriptive analyses of accessibility inequalities to evaluate how much those inequalities result from transport policies themselves. This is particularly true in cities from the global South, where accessibility and equity have so far remained marginal concerns in the policy realm. This thesis builds on theories of distributive justice and examines how they can guide the evaluation of transport policies and plans. It points to pathways for rigorous assessment of the accessibility impacts of transport policies and it contributes to current discussions on transportation equity. A justice framework is developed to assess the distributional effects of transport policies. This framework is then applied to evaluate recent transport policies developed in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in preparation to host sports mega-events, such as the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, which included substantial expansion of the rail and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) infrastructure. This research presents ex-post analyses of the policies implemented between 2014 and 2017 and ex-ante analysis of an as yet unfinished BRT project. It evaluates how the planned transport legacy of those mega-events impacted accessibility to sports venues, healthcare facilities, public schools and job opportunities for different income groups. The results show that there were overall accessibility benefits from the expansion in transport infrastructure between 2014 and 2017, but these were generally offset by the reduction in bus service levels that followed an economic crisis that hit the city after the Olympics. Quasi-counterfactual analysis suggests that, even if the city had not been hit by the economic crisis, recent transport investments related to mega-events would have led to higher accessibility gains for wealthier groups and increased inequalities in access to opportunities. Results suggest that those investments had, or would have had, greater impact on inequalities of access to jobs than in access to schools and healthcare facilities. The evaluation of the future accessibility impacts of the unfinished BRT corridor, nonetheless, indicates that such project could significantly improve access to job opportunities for a large share of Rio's population, particularly lower-income groups. Spatial analysis techniques show that the magnitude and statistical significance of these results depend on the spatial scale and travel time threshold selected for cumulative opportunity accessibility analysis. These results demonstrate that the ad-hoc methodological choices of accessibility analysis commonly used in the academic and policy literature can change the conclusions of equity assessments of transportation projects.

The existence of substantial socio-economic inequalities is one of the most fundamental features of the Brazilian society. Although educational inequality is not the only source of such socio-economic inequalities, it plays a major role, particularly regarding income inequality, both for current and for future generations. Acquiring a better understanding of the patterns of educational inequalities in Brazil is thus a relevant research topic, with implications for policy-making. The first part of the thesis contains a conceptual discussion in which we try to determine an appropriate definition of educational justice. We advocate the use of “essential educational achievements” as the relevant “currency of educational justice” and we defend a version of “equality of educational opportunity” in which the responsibility that is assigned to individuals increases as they grow up. While a remarkable quantitative improvement has taken place recently in Brazil, the situation concerning the quality of education is less clear. To explore qualitative aspects, in the second part, we turn to pupils' performance in standardized tests. Applying usual distributional assessment tools to such data, we map the intensity of educational inequalities in the country. Using recently-developed indices of inequality of opportunity, we assess the fairness of the Brazilian schooling system. Thus we identify both the areas where educational inequality is more intense, and those where educational unfairness is more severe. In the third part, we use econometric methods to investigate how the reallocation of educational resources could contribute to moving Brazilian educational system towards educational fairness. First, we evaluate the effect of teachers' wages on pupils' achievement, and our analysis suggests there is scope for Brazilian public schools to improve their human resources policies, with potential benefits accruing to low-performing pupils. Then, we analyze the reallocations of educational resources required to equalize educational opportunities, and we find that the redistribution of non-monetary inputs could considerably reduce the magnitude of the financial redistribution needed.

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