5

Question 1

Education in developing countries

Answer 1

• school enrollment rate for children are rising. Yet, absentee rates still high
• Evidence that schools deliver little (many say that there is no point if there is not real value)
• Education have monetary and non-monetary benefits
• The policy community believe that building free schools will lead to improved education
• Many parents believe that the main goal of education is to get a government or clerical job .
• “education is only worthwhile if the child complete secondary school “ . The same for the School system and teachers (elitist and fail in basic skill)
• Scaling down expectation, refocusing and technology may improve education

Question 2

the political economy of education

supply-demand wars

Answer 2

demand side: (influences)

1. more educated students’s prospects of earning are higher
2. educational cost (direct and indirect)

supply side:

• the quantity of school places is determine largely by political processes (at various levels and not by economic).

Question 3

should government intervene?

do we need an education policy?

Answer 3

supply side supporters:

• emphasis is given on the supply of schools and well trained teachers
• focus in enrollment

Demand side:

• no point in supplying education unless there is demand, which depends on the return to education
• no government is necessary, only parents and market

Question 4

supply-side constraints:

Answer 4

• market fails to provide enough supply: determine by government fiscal strength and private endowments
• no schools in remote areas
• bad roads and transportation is difficult
• shortage of well trained teachers
• large class size
• teacher absenteeism

Question 5

would parents send their kids to school without compulsory education?
what constrains them?

Answer 5

• the need for child labuor
• “no economic resources”
• “need to get married”
• Expectation of education
• worries related to schools

Question 6

type of intervention:

top down education policy (public education)

Answer 6

• build schools and hire teachers
• make education free
• offer scholarships
• conditional cash transfer (CCT)
• removing small cost
• shorting travel time
• reducing child morbidity
• compulsory schooling

Question 7

Arguments in favor of financial help for parents (instead of force)

• kids to school-

Answer 7

• Eliminating school fees (ex: Ghana 20% –>80%)
• Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT) (effective but expensive)
• small cost related to school ( uniforms meals,etc)
• travel time
• child morbidity and similar (health)

Question 8

what the mean reading performance indicated ? (graph OECD)

Answer 8

The existence of a relation between high national incomes and highest score (ST 44%)

Question 9

The course of expectations : S-curve

Answer 9

• There should not be an education-based poverty trap
• Return to education are very low for the first few years
• investment of one child rather all ( trend)