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A special issue of Economies (ISSN 2227-7099).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 63449

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Prof. Dr. Giorgio Vittadini

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Sciences Statistics, University of Milan Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
Interests: statistical analysis; applied econometrics; multivariate data analysis; human capital; educational system efficiency and effectiveness

Prof. Dr. Tommaso Agasisti

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School of Management, Politecnico di Milano, 20156 Milan, Italy
Interests: statistical and econometric methods for evaluating the performance and the efficiency of public organizations - especially universities, schools and local governments

Dr. Roberto Ricci

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INVALSI (National Institute for the Evaluation of the Educational System of Education and Training), 00044 Frascati, Italy
Interests: evaluation of education and training systems; improving levels of education and the quality of teaching and learning processes

Prof. Dr. Lanfranco Senn

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Guest Editor

Department of Economics and CERTeT, Università Bocconi, 20100 Milan, Italy
Interests: industrial economics; economics of education; econometric techniques for economic analysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this Special Issue of Economies on “Advances in Economics of Education” is to study the big current changes in macroeconomics of education (the “demand” for advances in economics of Education): glocalism, sustainability, new definitions of human capital, and the need to orient education toward new targets of education (communities, intermediate bodies, social capital). Particularly, the topics of interest are:

Analysis of organizational innovations that must be introduced to face big changes (policies):
- Levels of “optimal” mixes of multi- and interdisciplinary education (teaching program planning and flexibility; mix of theory and experiences);
- Organizing the training and recruitment of teachers;
- Rethinking long life learning;
- Evaluating—in the perspective of multi- and interdisciplinarity—learning performances (character skills);
- Facing the growing need of interaction of educational systems;
- Organizing orientation activities;
- Diffusing best practices of education;
- Evaluating digital innovations in schools and higher education institutions by assessing the impact of technological tools and strategies on students’ performance and/or institutional performance (including costs, efficiency gains);
Study of the factors affecting the equality of opportunity for students, such as the financial and educational aid to students and their families—with a specific reference to the overarching objective of contrasting educational poverty;
Evaluation of the efficiency of schools and HEIs’ operations, considering a wide array of indicators for their inputs (financial and human resources) and outputs (cognitive and non-cognitive skills, research products, relationship with the communities, etc.);
New definition of human capital involving not only cognitive skills, such as remembering, speaking, understanding, making connections, deducing, and evaluating, but also involves transversal qualities, personality dispositions called “noncognitive skills” or “soft skills” or “character skills”.

Prof. Dr. Giorgio Vittadini
Prof. Dr. Tommaso Agasisti
Dr. Roberto Ricci
Prof. Dr. Lanfranco Senn
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Educational organizational innovations
Equality of opportunity for students
Efficiency of schools
Human capital, cognitive skills, noncognitive skills

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Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 885 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Education Investment on Regional Poverty Alleviation, Dynamic Constraints, and Marginal Benefits: A Case Study of Yunnan’s Poor Counties

by Xiaowen Xie, Saran Sarntisart and Md. Nasir Uddin

Economies 2023, 11(2), 42; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies11020042 - 31 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5161

Abstract

This paper studied the impact of education investment on regional poverty alleviation of Yunnan’s poor counties, especially the dynamic constraints and marginal benefits of education input. This paper takes 30 poor counties in Yunnan province from 2007 to 2020 as the research object. A double fixed effect model, a systematic GMM model, and a quantile regression model are used to study the effect of education investment on regional poverty alleviation from static and dynamic levels. The results show that education investment has a significant positive effect on regional poverty alleviation at both static and dynamic levels. At the same time, under different poverty levels, the effect of education investment on poverty alleviation shows a law of diminishing marginal effect. As for the current situation of poor counties in Yunnan Province, the effect of education investment on poverty alleviation is increasing at a decreasing rate. The research object of this paper has achieved the goal of getting rid of absolute poverty, so the conclusion of this paper has more reference value. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Economics of Education)

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17 pages, 2579 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Determinants of Young People with Secondary Education Being Employed

by Alina Stundziene and Vilda Giziene

Economies 2023, 11(2), 40; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies11020040 - 30 Jan 2023

Viewed by 2099

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to find out the main factors that determine whether young people with secondary education are employed or not in Lithuania. A survey of young people, aged 18–25, was carried out to gather information about individual characteristics and to find out the reasons why they are not employed. The analysis of the collected data was performed using independent samples tests and the calculation of the contingency coefficient. The research showed that young people start work quite young and are willing to enter the labor market. However, they find it difficult to combine work and study. The regression analysis found five significant variables to explain why young people are employed or not, i.e., their job contract, satisfaction with other work conditions, gender, the opportunity to work remotely, and 40 h worked per week. The probit model showed that temporary and full-time jobs reduce the probability of being employed; meanwhile, the opportunity to work remotely and greater satisfaction with other work conditions increases the probability of employment. The probit model also provided evidence that women are more likely to work than men. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Economics of Education)

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20 pages, 2076 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Availability and Quality of School Facilities as a Determinant of Local Economic Development: The Slovak Experience

by Viera Papcunová, Marek Dvořák, Roman Vavrek, Jarmila Mižičková, Petra Harasimová, Monika Víchová and Tomáš Váňa

Economies 2023, 11(2), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies11020035 - 19 Jan 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3776

Abstract

The availability and quality of school facilities has long been a hot topic, not only at the level of self-government, but also in respect of the whole public administration within the context of Slovakia. COVID-19 and the current military conflict in Ukraine are jointly putting increased pressure on local self-governments as the founders of kindergartens and primary schools. Whether the availability and quality of school facilities is a determinant of local development is a question for which there are very few studies. The aim of this paper is to identify long-term satisfaction with the availability and quality of kindergartens and primary schools in the Červený Kameň microregion; this is understood in the context of these institutions serving as an important determinant of local development. In this paper, a qualitative evaluation (survey) of parents of students in the Čerevený Kameň microregion was conducted. In order to increase the objectivity of the obtained results, the survey was conducted two times with an interval of 7 years (2014 vs. 2021). Our results show that parents perceive the availability and quality in the same way even over a long period, but without confirmed statistically significant differences. At the same time, however, we found that satisfaction with the analyzed school facilities changed over time. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Economics of Education)

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20 pages, 1145 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Determinants of Mathematics Achievement: A Gender Perspective Using Multilevel Random Forest

by Alice Bertoletti, Marta Cannistrà, Melisa Diaz Lema, Chiara Masci, Anna Mergoni, Lidia Rossi and Mara Soncin

Economies 2023, 11(2), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies11020032 - 17 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4179

Abstract

This paper investigates the determinants of mathematics performance by gender, exploiting a multilevel random forest approach. OECD PISA 2018 data from 28 European countries are employed to explore the performance of male and female students as a function of students’ family characteristics, their attitudes towards education, and class and school environment. Results show that the gender gap in favour of boys persists in most European countries. However, teacher and school practices like fostering student reading and creating a cooperative environment allow mitigating the influence of family background in countries without gender gap. Policy implications to foster performance equality are provided. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Economics of Education)

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9 pages, 1053 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does Economic Inequality Account for Cross-Country Discrepancies in Relative Social Mobility: An Empirical Investigation

by John Weirstrass Muteba Mwamba, Paul Mumba Shiwamya and Benjamin Mudiangombe Mudiangombe

Economies 2022, 10(11), 279; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies10110279 - 8 Nov 2022

Viewed by 1964

Abstract

This paper makes use of the Markov Switching model and the K-Means Cluster analysis to estimate the transition probabilities of social mobility and to analyze the impact of social inequalities on intergenerational social mobility. The dataset is a sample of 44 countries and comprises the 2018 social mobility indices, and the 2018 or latest income inequality measures. The data are collected from the OECD Income and Wealth Distribution Databases, and from the world economic forum. It was found that the likelihood of moving upward or downward the social ladder is minimal in both developed and emerging countries. In addition, the paper found that the hypothesis according to which high-income countries have a higher relative social mobility is not necessarily true. The United States, a high-income country, was found to have a lower social mobility, similar to that of Turkey and South Africa. Furthermore, it was found that when poverty decreases, intergenerational social mobility increases in both lower and higher mobility countries. Policies that promote equality of opportunities at all stages of life are therefore recommended to improve intergenerational social mobility. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Economics of Education)

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23 pages, 3730 KiB

Open AccessArticle

University-Industry Cooperation: A Peer-Reviewed Bibliometric Analysis

by Pedro Borges, Mário Franco, Amélia Carvalho, Carlos Machado dos Santos, Margarida Rodrigues, Galvão Meirinhos and Rui Silva

Economies 2022, 10(10), 255; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies10100255 - 13 Oct 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3703

Abstract

University-industry cooperation is associated with the transfer of knowledge and technology. This collaboration is an extremely important field of study for the world’s economies, helping companies to become more competitive. The present research aims to explore and analyze the literature related to university-industry cooperation, using a bibliometric analysis as a methodology. This study intends to use an unlike approach to conduct the literature review and map the most relevant research studies, using a rigorous research protocol based on scientific documents published in the Web of Science database, using the keyword “University-Industry Cooperation”. The 256 articles collected are situated in a time base between 1970 and 2020 and were submitted to content analysis in R Bibliometrix. This systematic literature review revealed that companies are increasingly focusing on cooperation with universities. The research of these publications points to a growing trend in publications of articles with the topic “University-Industry Cooperation”. From the bibliometric analysis of the global research results, we highlight the most cited authors and the authors’ publications over time, and we also highlight the main research topics and countries where studies were conducted. On the other hand, we also highlight the collaboration network between institutions, authors, and countries over time. The University-Industry cooperation is explored here as an added value for advancing scientific knowledge on the relationship between these two important stakeholders, opening the way for future research in this area. With this article, we hope to contribute to the evolution of scientific knowledge in this area, providing future researchers with a detailed radiography overview of the literature related to University-Industry cooperation, contributing to filling an existing gap related to the scarcity of SLR studies that focus on this scientific theme. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Economics of Education)

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34 pages, 682 KiB

Open AccessArticle

University Rankings and Goals: A Cluster Analysis

by Roba Elbawab

Economies 2022, 10(9), 209; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies10090209 - 30 Aug 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3908

Abstract

Nowadays, university rankings are used to assess all aspects of universities. Due to the impact of university rankings on assessing the performance of universities, this research aims to explore university rankings in depth. University rankings are considered contributors to assessing university performance. Previous literature showed different types of goals, such as output and support goals, where the literature advised to align between these two types of goals. Universities have different goals, but still, university rankings measure all universities on the same criteria. Subsequently, this research has used the most used university rankings in the literature, QS world ranking dataset. Then unsupervised machine learning was performed to cluster the universities. The results divided universities among four clusters. This study helps in allocating the university in the adequate cluster. This study helps university managers define the goals of their universities. The study recommends universities align their support goals with their output goals. The study recommends universities to develop international goals and strategies, and support the research in the universities by supporting the scholars. This study’s novelty lies in connecting the university rankings and goals using management analytics in education. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Economics of Education)

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17 pages, 296 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Development of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills in Students in the Autonomous Province of Trento

by Giorgio Vittadini, Giuseppe Folloni and Caterina Sturaro

Economies 2022, 10(7), 169; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies10070169 - 15 Jul 2022

Viewed by 1744

Abstract

The analysis of what human capital (HC) is has a long history and culminates in the acknowledgment that HC and its growth are very important for both cognitive education (cognitive skills (CSs)) and personal life (noncognitive skills (NCSs)) and that CSs and NCSs have a strong reciprocal relationship, as studies by Heckman demonstrated. The present contribution (following Heckman’s approach) analyzed the relationship between CSs and NCSs in a sample of middle school students in the Autonomous Province of Trento. The second goal of the research was to verify whether educational teaching behaviors improved students’ personalities. Aside from the use of administrative data (INVALSI data, 2015 and 2018), one survey was administered in the 2018–2019 schooling year to verify the relationship between NCSs and CSs. Moreover, we sought to determine whether education teaching behavior improved the students’ personalities (1522 students in 25 schools) and whether programs could enhance NCSs. Methodological tools for the analysis involved the generalized least squares approach to answer the first question and a difference-in-differences model for the second. The main results showed that the levels of NCSs affected the ability to learn and improve CSs; a challenging teaching approach, especially if accompanied by programs improving its quality, had positive results. Finally, the research suggested that a wider, national-based survey following students from primary to secondary school would allow for a greater understanding of the dynamics of CSs and NCSs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Economics of Education)

13 pages, 427 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Power Actor and Madrasah Performance: Political Connections as a Moderating Variable

by Rahmawaty and I Made Narsa

Economies 2022, 10(5), 107; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies10050107 - 1 May 2022

Viewed by 2646

Abstract

With the background of public sector management reform in the world of education, the characteristics of the leaders have become the main thing in improving an institution’s performance theory; this study explores the influence of aspects of the heads of madrasah (their age, education, and tenure) and madrasah performance in Islamic educational institutions in East Java, Indonesia. This study shows that political relations strengthen the positive influence of the head’s age and tenure on madrasah performance. Meanwhile, political connections do not enhance the positive impact of the madrasah head’s formal educational background on madrasah performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Economics of Education)

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22 pages, 827 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Understanding Innovation in Education: A Service Co-Production Perspective

by Luis Rubalcaba

Economies 2022, 10(5), 96; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies10050096 - 19 Apr 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 9456

Abstract

Innovation in education has been heavily focused on pedagogical, technological, or regulatory elements, while service innovation relates to other elements involving interpersonal and community co-production too. This paper provides a conceptual framework to understand innovation in education from a service economic perspective. This is done by bridging two rather disconnected research areas: service innovation and education innovation. The results indicate that (i) the characteristics of education as a service (such as interactive co-production) should be taken into account to better understand how innovations are created and implemented; (ii) innovation modes in education can be aligned with service innovation modes, mainly when a public service logic is adopted; (iii) the tension existing in service innovation between customization and standardization is replicated in the education sector; and (iv) multiagent frameworks in service innovation are particularly visible in innovative learning communities. Managerial and policy implications should be guided by service-friendly principles such as freedom, autonomy, and subsidiarity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Economics of Education)

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10 pages, 249 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Education on Economic Growth

by Besime Fekri Ziberi, Donat Rexha, Xhemazie Ibraimi and Besnik Avdiaj

Economies 2022, 10(4), 89; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies10040089 - 10 Apr 2022

Cited by 37 | Viewed by 12907

Abstract

Education is a crucial factor for sustainable economic growth. Therefore, public expenditures on education are of great interest to both researchers and policy makers. The channels through which education affects economic growth differ according to the level of development of the country. This study aims to measure the impact of public expenditure on education for economic growth in North Macedonia. The data used are secondary data derived from the World Bank Indicators for the period 1917–2020. The econometric model employed in this study is an Instrumental Variable Two-Stage Least Square. The dependent variable in the model is Gross Domestic Product and the independent variables in the model are public expenditures on education, labor force participation rate, gross capital formation, unemployment, industry, wages, employment, information, and communication technology, and the instrumented variable is tertiary enrolment. This study suggests that a one-point increase in public expenditures on education will positively affect economic growth in the North Macedonia. The study also shows that a one-point increase in unemployment will increase economic growth and a one-point decrease in employment will increase economic growth in North Macedonia. These two results, which contradict the theoretical and empirical approaches, prove the mismatch between the supply and demand of real occupations in the labor market in North Macedonia. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Economics of Education)

16 pages, 332 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Analysis of Underemployment among Young Graduates: The Case of a Higher Education Institution in South Africa

by Daniel Francois Meyer and Precious Mncayi

Economies 2021, 9(4), 196; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies9040196 - 10 Dec 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 9074

Abstract

Labour markets have undergone vast transformations over the last few years. There are arguments that employment and unemployment measures have not been adequate in understanding the complexities of labour markets. Research on labour underutilisation has focused on one side of the spectrum, which is just about the scarcity of jobs. However, there is more to the labour market than just scarcity of jobs, and many researchers believe unemployment is not a complete measurement of unused labour capacity, which is why this study aimed to investigate the existence of underemployment from the perceptions of young graduates themselves. In this regard, the definition of young people entailed those younger than 35 years as officially defined in South Africa. The study employed a primary data method of data collection in which an online survey was used to collect the necessary data from the alumni database of a South African university. The study used binary logistic regression to determine factors that contributed to or influenced underemployment status. The main findings indicated that underemployment was rife according to age, where younger graduates (20–29 years) were more likely to be underemployed compared to their more mature counterparts; that is, those in the 30–34 age category, with non-White graduates most likely to encounter underemployment compared to their counterparts. This study resulted in important findings that carry significant policy implications and recommendations that may be crucial in correcting the current employment mismatches in the South African graduate labour market. Full article

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