Questions on Education and Economics Development

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (20 POINTS)
1 In “Development as Freedom”, Sen argues for poverty to be defined in terms of capability deprivation – deprivations that are intrinsically important (rather than low income, which is only instrumentally important). He points to which of the following as proof that we need to go beyond simple income-based measures?
* Relative mortality rates of White and Black people in the US, and Black people in the US versus people in China and the Indian state of Kerala
* Low female-male ratios (“Missing Women”) in sub-Saharan Africa
* Low educational attainment (relative to growth) in East Asian Miracle countries
* All of the above
2 Recall the Bold et al. paper (Enrollment Without Learning) regarding teachers and teaching in sub-Saharan Africa. Which of the following is NOT a question that they address?
* How much do teachers teach?
* Who decides to become a teacher?
* What do teachers know?
* How well do teachers teach?
3 Hanushek and Woessmann (Schools and Growth) argue that “cross-country growth regressions generate a close relationship between educational achievement and GDP growth that is remarkably stable.” Which of the following is NOT one of their findings?
* Conditional on initial income levels, economic growth is well described by cognitive skill levels.
* Conditional on initial income levels, economic growth is well described by average years of schooling.
* The impact of educational achievement (cognitive skills) on economic growth is causal, when examined from multiple approaches.
* Correctly measuring human capital is key to proper evaluation of the relationship between education and economic growth.
4 The most important reason we conduct a randomized control trial (RCT) is (Hint: see Angrist and Pischke if want a refresher on RCTs)
* Ensuring large enough sample to yield valid inferences
* Ensuring similarity of the treatment and control populations
* Ensuring valid analyses at a relatively small cost
* Ensuring a diverse enough sample so that results have wide relevance to real-life
5 In her study of the impact of school construction in Indonesia, Duflo finds
* The program failed to increase educational attainment in a significant way.
* The program increased average schooling through increasing primary schooling mostly.
* The program increased average schooling through increasing both primary schooling and secondary schooling.
* Wages did not go up even though educational attainment increased
6 In his book “The Rebirth of Education: Schooling Ain’t Learning”, Pritchett talks about the expansion of schooling in the post-World War II era. According to him, this expansion was due to
* Prosperous countries having more money to invest in schools
* Democratic countries with popularly elected politicians promoting education
* A reduction in corruption across countries and increase in civil liberties
* None of the above
7 How does Mankiw et al. augment the Solow model?
* By introducing a technology parameter
* By introducing human capital alongside physical capital and labor
* By introducing capital depreciation
* By describing how the technology parameter evolves
8 In the experiment conducted in the Dominican Republic by Rob Jensen, the impact of the program (giving out information on returns from secondary school) was
* Higher for students from the poorest households compared to that for their peers from richer households
* Lower for students from the poorest households compared to that for their peers from richer households
* Similar (not statistically distinguishable) between students from these two groups of households
* Not statistically significant for either students from the poorest households or their peers from richer households
9 In “Drought of Opportunities,” Shah and Steinberg talk about the impact of rainfall shocks on children of varying ages. You were born in 1995 and your sister was born in 2003. Who would benefit by more rainfall (positive economy-wide shocks) in 2005?
* You
* Your sister
* Both you and your sister
* Neither you nor your sister
10 In her study of the impact of school construction in Indonesia, Duflo applies a difference-in differences estimation strategy. This strategy consisted of looking at which of the following two differences
* Difference between the younger and older age cohorts, and difference between high program areas and low program areas
* Difference between the children of high-SES families and children of low-SES families, and difference between high program areas and low program areas
* Difference between the younger and older age cohorts, and difference between Indonesia and similar developing countries which did not experience a revenue boom
* Difference between high program areas and low program areas within Indonesia, and difference between Indonesia and similar developing countries which did not experience a revenue boom
SHORT ESSAY QUESTIONS (TOTAL 55 POINTS)
1 (12 points) TEACHER ABSENTEEISM & TEACHER SALARIES
(4 points) Is teacher absenteeism an area of concern in developing countries?
Yes, teacher absenteeism is a major area of concern in developing countries. High rates of teacher absenteeism can lead to reduced instruction time for students, lower educational outcomes, and wasted public spending on education.
(8 points) What can policymakers do? What form might the intervention take? Will higher salaries help?
(Hint: Read the slide deck “Teachers, Incentives, Teaching & Learning in Developing Countries” (uploaded under “Midterms & Final Paper” folder in Files) and describe the findings of any two papers on the topic of impact of higher teacher salaries.
Policymakers can address teacher absenteeism through a variety of interventions, including increasing teacher salaries, providing performance-based incentives, and improving school governance and monitoring. One possible intervention is to increase the frequency of school inspections and hire more supervisory staff to reduce teacher absence. Another intervention could be to provide performance-based incentives to teachers, such as bonuses for good attendance or student performance.
Some studies have found that higher salaries can reduce teacher absenteeism, while others have found no effect. Muralidharan et al. (2017) found that reducing teacher absences by increasing school monitoring could be over ten times more cost effective at reducing the effective student-teacher ratio than hiring more teachers. Also, Bold et al. (2017) found that teacher absenteeism rates were high in many low-income countries, and that increasing teacher salaries did not have a significant impact on reducing teacher absenteeism. These studies suggest that while higher salaries may have some impact on teacher absenteeism, other interventions, such as improving school governance and providing performance-based incentives, may be more effective.
2 (12 points) What are the main differences between demand wallahs and supply wallahs as described by Banerjee and Duflo (“Poor Economics,” Chapter 4)?
The main difference between demand wallahs and supply wallahs is that demand wallahs focus on increasing the demand for education among the poor, while supply wallahs focus on improving the supply of education. Demand wallahs believe that the main barrier to education is a lack of demand from parents and students, and that by providing incentives such as cash transfers, scholarships, or free uniforms, they can increase demand for education. On the other hand, supply wallahs believe that the main barrier to education is a lack of good schools and teachers, and that by building more schools and improving teacher quality, they can increase the supply of education.
Recall the chapter by Easterly (“Educated for What?”) – do you think Easterly is a supply wallah?
Easterly is a supply wallah, as he argues that the main problem with education in developing countries is a lack of good schools and teachers, and that by improving the supply of education, we can improve educational outcomes.
With respect to the COVID pandemic, think of a way it might affect the supply side (supply of schooling), and of a way it may affect the demand side (demand for schooling).
The COVID pandemic may affect the supply side by causing schools to close or teachers to be absent, which would reduce the supply of schooling. On the demand side, the pandemic may reduce the demand for schooling, as parents may be more reluctant to send their children to school for fear of infection, or may need their children to stay home to help with household chores or income-generating activities.
3 (15 points) TEACHERS AND TEACHING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
(2 points) What is adverse selection, as related to the teaching profession in developing countries?
Its the tendency for individuals with lower ability or motivation to enter the profession, due to low salaries a...