This paper addresses the question to what extent the strong positive correlation between education and training can be attributed to differences in individual-, job- and firm-specific characteristics. The novelty of this paper is to analyze previously unconsidered characteristics, in particular, job tasks and firm-fixed effects. The results show…

This paper presents a model of educational production that tries to make sense of recent evidence on effects of institutional arrangements on student performance. In a simple principal-agent framework, students choose their learning effort to maximize their net benefits, while the government chooses educational spending to maximize its net…

Using principal-components analysis, this paper highlights the nature of the alleged gap between new and older universities in the United Kingdom, as portrayed in recently published league tables. Although the tables may capture some recognized differences, they rank performance by limited criteria that favor the old university sector and fail to…

The states exhibit policy variations affecting school districts' local environment. This paper develops a theoretical model demonstrating that bias induced by omitting relevant state characteristics is greater in state-level analyses than in less aggregate studies. Aggregation to the state level inflates the coefficients on school input variables.…

Describes an econometric modeling of the labor market for teachers in an "administered" market setting in which the government partially controls the main determinants of demand and is very influential in setting teachers' wages. Reviews relevant econometric literature and shows market forces' crucial role. Discusses economic policy…