Lauritz Holm-Nielsen

Education, earnings, and inequality in Brazil, 1982-98 - implications for education policy

The educational attainment of Brazils labor force, has gradually increased over the past two decades. At the same time, the government has pursued a series of economic structural adjustment policies. The authors investigate how these simultaneous advances have altered the relationship between labor market earnings, and education. They find that the returns to education in the labor market, fundamentally changed between 1982, and 1998. While the returns to tertiary education increased sharply, the returns to primary education dropped by 26 percent, and those to lower secondary, by 35 percent. Moreover, the authors argue, the marginal reduction in wage inequality that occurred in this period was linked primarily to a reduction in the returns to schooling, and only secondarily, to a more equitable distribution of schooling. The findings suggest that the supply of highly skilled labor is inadequate to meet demand. That suggests a need for policy action aimed at increasing access to, and completion of tertiary education. Increasing the supply of highly skilled labor, would improve prospects for both economic growth, and reduce wage inequality.

Tertiary Education in Colombia: Paving the Way for Reform

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ix Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xi Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xiii Abbreviations and Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xv Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xvii 1. The Current Status of the Tertiary Education System in Colombia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 The Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Characteristics of the Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 No Improvements in Equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Female Students Outnumber Males . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 The Providers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Legal Status of Providing Institutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Transfer of Credit Between Providers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 System Governance and Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Quality Assurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Overview of the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Applied Quality Assurance Mechanisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Quality Assurance of Undergraduate Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 An Analysis of the QA System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Improvements to Quality Assurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Academic Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Qualifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Student-Teacher ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Terms of Employment in the Public Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Enrollment: Unprecedented Expansion in the mid 1990s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Expansion in an International Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Private Sector Dominance in Enrollment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Recent Decline in Admission to Tertiary Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Disparities in Regional Enrollment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Significant Enrollment in Evening Courses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 High Graduation Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Disciplines: Under-Investment in Technical Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Programs: Biased Towards Undergraduate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 A Struggling Science and Technology Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Strengths: Centers of Excellence, ICT and the Private Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Weaknesses: Human Capital, IP Protection and Unequal Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 A Nascent Internationalization of Colombian Tertiary Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Approaches to Results-Based Funding in Tertiary Education: Identifying Finance Reform Options for Chile

Unrealized potential exists for increasing accountability and transparency in Chilean tertiary education by allocating resources based on achieved results rather than historical precedence and political negotiation. Against this background, the authors profile approaches to results-based funding of tertiary education to identify efficacious finance reform options for Chile. International experience shows that financing by results is not a ready-made concept, but a broad label that offers a menu of design options. To decipher results-based funding, the authors cover all phases in designing and implementing a results-based funding system and highlight strengths and weaknesses of concepts, such as taximeter funding, performance contracts, and formula-based allocations.