Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The over-arching concern of the three parts of the dissertation is how economics can
and should influence education policymaking, the emphasis on the economics side
being models of country development and the contribution made by human capital.
Part I begins with a review of economic growth theory. How educational performance
and country development have been measured is then discussed, with considerable
attention going towards conceptual and measurement complexities associated with the
latter. An approach is presented for expanding the number of countries whose
educational quality can be compared, by expanding the number of linkable testing
programmes. This approach, which above all allows for the inclusion of more African
and Latin American countries, is one of the key contributions made by the dissertation
to the existing body of knowledge. Three existing empirical growth models are
examined, including work by Hanushek and Woessman on the relationship between
educational quality and income. Part I ends with a discussion on how the economics
literature can best be packaged to influence education policymaking. A ‘growth
simulator’ tool in Excel for informing the policy discourse is presented. The
production of this tool includes establishing empirically a feasible improvement
trajectory for educational quality that policymakers can use and some analysis of how
linguistic fractionalisation in a country evolves over time. This tool can be considered
a further key output of the dissertation. A basic model for relating educational quality,
via income growth, to teacher pay, is presented.
Part II offers an analysis of UNESCO country-level data on enrolment and spending
going back to 1970, with a view to establishing historical patterns that can inform
education planners, particularly those in developing countries, on how budgets and
enrolment expansion should be distributed across the levels of the education system.
The analysis presented in Part II represents a novel way of using existing countrylevel
data and can be seen as an important step towards filling a gap experienced by
education policymakers, namely the paucity of empirical evidence that can guide
decisions around the prioritisation of education levels. Part II moreover arrives at a
few empirical findings, including the finding that enrolment and spending patterns
have been systematically different in countries with faster economic growth and the
finding that historical per student spending at the secondary level appears to play a
larger role in development than was previously thought.
Part III contrasts the available economic advice for education policymakers with what
policymakers actually appear to believe in. The focus falls, in particular, on four
developing countries: South Africa, Brazil, Chile and China. A few areas where
economists could explore the data to a greater degree or communicate available
findings differently, in the interests of better education policies, are identified. Part III
partly serves as a demonstration of how comparisons between education systems can
be better oriented towards providing advice to education policymakers on questions
relating to efficiency and equity. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die oorkoepelende fokus van die drie gedeeltes van die verhandeling is hoe die studie
van ekonomie beleid in die onderwyssektor kan en moet beïnvloed. Veral belangrik is
modelle van die ekonomiese groei van lande en die rol van menslike kapitaal in
hierdie modelle.
Die eerste gedeelte van die verhandeling bied oorsig van die teorie rakende
ekonomiese groei. Hoe onderwysprestasie en nasionale ontwikkeling gemeet word,
word dan bespreek, met sterk fokus op die konseptuele en tegniese kompleksiteit
van laasgenoemde. Metode word aangebied waardeur meer lande se
onderwysgehalte vergelyk kan word, deur middel van die koppeling van data van
groter aantal toetsprogramme. Hierdie metode, wat veral die insluiting van meer lande
uit Afrika en Latyn-Amerika toelaat, is een van die kernbydraes van die verhandeling
tot die bestaande korpus van kennis. Drie bestaande empiriese modelle van
ekonomiese groei word geanaliseer, insluitende die werk van Hanushek en Woessman
oor die verhouding tussen onderwysgehalte en inkomste. Die eerste gedeelte sluit af
met bespreking oor hoe die ekonomiese literatuur optimaal aangebied kan word om
beleidmaking in die onderwys te beïnvloed. Groei-simulasie hulpmiddel in Excel
wat die beleidsdiskoers kan vergemaklik word aangebied en verduidelik. Die
ontwikkeling van hierdie gereedskap maak dit moontlik om op empiriese basis
moontlike trajek vir die verbetering van onderwysgehalte te bepaal, wat vir
beleidsmakers nuttig kan wees, sowel as ontleding van hoe linguïstiese
verbrokkeling in land histories kan ontwikkel. Hierdie gereedskap kan as verdere
sleutelproduk van die verhandeling beskou work. Basiese model van hoe
onderwysgehalte en die inkomste van onderwysers deur middel van ekonomiese groei
gekoppel is, word ook aangebied.
Die tweede gedeelte van die verhandeling bied ontleding van UNESCO se
nasionale statistieke van lande oor skoolinskrywings en onderwysuitgawes vanaf
1970, met die oog op die identifikasie van belangrike historiese tendense vir
onderwysbeplanners, veral in ontwikkelende lande. Die fokus hier is veral op hoe
begrotings en inskrywings ideaal oor die verskillende vlakke van die onderwysstelsel
versprei behoort te wees. Die ontleding in die tweede gedeelte verteenwoordig
innoverende manier om die bestaande nasionale statistieke te gebruik en kan beskou
word as belangrike stap om gaping te vul wat deur beleidsmakers in die onderwys
ondervind word, naamlik die gebrek aan empiriese gegewens vir besluite oor
prioritisering tussen onderwysvlakke. Die tweede gedeelte bied ook verskeie
empiriese bevindinge, soos dat die tendense rakende inskrywings en besteding per
student sistematies tussen lande met vinniger ekonomiese groei en ander lande
verskil, asook dat historiese besteding per student op die sekondêre vlak blykbaar
groter invloed op ontwikkeling het as wat vroeër gedink is.
Die derde gedeelte van die verhandeling vergelyk die advies wat die ekonomiese
literatuur aan beleidmakers in die onderwys bied met wat beleidmakers self blykbaar
glo. Die fokus val op veral vier ontwikkelende lande: Suid-Afrika, Brasilië, Chili en
China. Gebiede word bespreek waar ekonome in die belang van beter onderwysbeleid
tot groter mate data kan analiseer of bevindings op beter maniere kan kommunikeer.
Die derde gedeelte kan beskou word as demonstrasie van hoe vergelykings tussen
verskeie onderwysstelsels beter georiënteer kan word om vir die beleidmaker in die
onderwys advies te verskaf rakende kwessies van doeltreffendheid en gelykheid.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/86578 |
| Date | 04 1900 |
| Creators | Gustafsson, Martin Anders |
| Contributors | Van der Berg, Servaas, Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Economics. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | Unknown |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 305 p. : ill. |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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