Sandra McNally

Farm diversification in England and Wales — what can we learn from the farm business survey?

Abstract Given the series of crises in agriculture, farm diversification is an increasingly relevant strategy for farmers. Trends in various types of diversification are described in England and Wales — as recorded in the Farm Business Survey. Although hirework is the most frequently reported diversification activity, renting out of farm buildings is the only activity considered here where there has been a substantial increase in participation over the last 10 years. Furthermore, for most types of diversification, the rate of exit is similar in magnitude to that of entry. When they are present, most types of diversification make a relatively small contribution to average business income. The probability of observing diversification is strongly related to farm size and type. A particular concern is that most types of diversification activities considered here may be more difficult to pursue on small farms, especially within less favoured areas.

The literacy hour

In this paper, we evaluate the effect of the literacy hour in English primary schools on pupil attainment. The National Literacy Project (NLP) was undertaken in about 400 English primary schools in 1997 and 1998. We compare the reading and overall English attainment of children in NLP schools as compared to a set of control schools at the end of primary school education (age 11). We also compare the overall English performance of these children when they have reached the end of their compulsory education (age 16). We find a larger increase in attainment in reading and English for pupils in NLP schools as compared to pupils not exposed to the literacy hour between 1996 and 1998. We also find modest, but positive effects from exposure to the literacy hour that persist to age 16, as GCSE English performance is seen to be higher for children affected by the NLP introduction. Since there are gender gaps in English performance (in favour of girls), we consider whether the literacy hour has had a differential impact by gender. We find some evidence that at age 11, boys received a greater benefit than girls. Finally, we show the policy to be cost effective. These findings are of strong significance when placed into the wider education debate about what works best in schools for improving pupil performance. The evidence reported here suggests that public policy aimed at changing the content and structure of teaching can significantly raise pupil attainment.

New Technology in Schools: Is there a Payoff?

Despite its high relevance to current policy debates, estimating the causal effect of Information Communication Technology (ICT) investment on educational standards remains fraught with difficulties. In this paper, we exploit a change in the rules governing ICT funding across different school districts of England to devise an instrumental variable strategy to identify the causal impact of ICT expenditure on pupil outcomes. The approach identifies the effect of being a ‘winner’ or a ‘loser’ in the new system of ICT funding allocation to schools. Our findings suggest a positive impact on primary school performance in English and Science, though not for Mathematics. We reconcile our positive results with others in the literature by arguing that it is the joint effect of large increases in ICT funding coupled with a fertile background for making an efficient use of it that led to positive effects of ICT expenditure on educational performance in English primary schools.

Vive la Révolution! Long‐Term Educational Returns of 1968 to the Angry Students

The famous events of May 1968, starting with student riots, threw France into a state of turmoil. As a result, normal examination procedures were abandoned, and the pass rate for various qualifications increased enormously. The lowering of thresholds at critical stages of the education system enabled a proportion of students to pursue more years of higher education than would otherwise have been possible. For those on the margin of passing their examinations, additional years of higher education increased future wages and occupational levels. Interestingly, the effect is also transmitted across generations and is reflected in the educational performance of children.

Improving Pupil Performance in English Secondary Schools: Excellence in Cities

This paper reports on the short run impact of one of the U.K. governments flagship education policies, the Excellence in Cities (EiC) program. EiC is aimed specifically at alleviating poor student achievement in inner city areas. The analysis compares educational attainment in Maths and English for Year 9 (age 14) students before and after EiC introduction in EiC schools as compared to non-EiC schools. School-level absences in treatment and control schools are also compared. The results show a positive, though small, improvement in pupil attainment and a strong reduction in absences within EiC schools relative to schools in the comparison group. We interpret the findings as evidence that policies like EiC can impact positively on pupil attainment and attendance. (JEL: I21, H52, C52) Copyright (c) 2004 The European Economic Association.

Non‐Native Speakers of English in the Classroom: What are the Effects on Pupil Performance?

In recent years there has been an increase in the number of children going to school in England who do not speak English as a first language. We investigate whether this has an impact on the educational outcomes of native English speakers at the end of primary school. We show that the negative correlation observed in the raw data is mainly an artefact of selection: non-native speakers are more likely to attend school with disadvantaged native speakers. We attempt to identify a causal impact of changes in the percentage of non-native speakers within the year group. In general, our results suggest zero effect and rule out negative effects.

Wetland restoration, collective action and the role of water management institutions

Over the past 50 years, large areas of agricultural land have been drained and put into intensive agricultural production. Increasing attention is now being paid to the issue of restoring wetland areas and promoting environmental benefits. Collective action is important for wetland restoration, both because of the physical interactions among landholders and because of the cost saving and enhanced environmental benefit that can be achieved at a larger scale. Policy needs to be geared towards facilitating co-operation among farmers if environmental schemes are to be effective in enabling wetland restoration. Internal Drainage Boards have been primarily involved with securing of land drainage for local landholders. They now have a formal responsibility to further nature conservation but could take a more proactive role in promoting wetland restoration. They have good information on local water management options and are well placed to co-ordinate actions for restoration. Agri-environment policy could be redirected in order to promote collective action for wetland restoration.

Evaluating the environmentally sensitive areas: the value of rural environments and policy relevance

Abstract Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) have come to take a central place in agri-environmental policy. An important evaluation of the scheme has sought to estimate the value of two ESAs using the contingent valuation method. This paper assesses this evaluation and argues that in practice the method failed to establish a clear and realistic description of the likely outcome of the policy. In a number of respects, the evaluation assumes that the policy will be successful prior to the analysis. These concerns are supported by the evidence available from monitoring studies. In consequence the evaluation is of limited use for the purposes of policy decision-making. There is a need to define the likely outcomes of policy more realistically, recognising the inevitable uncertainty, and to investigate the values of conservation at the margin in order to make such evaluations more relevant to policy development.

Resources and Standards in Urban Schools

Despite being central to education policy, there remains significant debate about the extent to which resources matter for pupil outcomes. We consider this in the context of an English policy initiative aimed at inner-city secondary schools. Results show a positive impact on school attendance and performance in mathematics. There is marked heterogeneity, with the greatest positive impact in the more disadvantaged schools and on students of middle/high ability within these schools. We conclude that additional resources can matter for children in the poorest schools. However, small changes in resources have little effect on “hard-to-reach” children.

Student Awareness of Costs and Benefits of Educational Decisions: Effects of an Information Campaign

Many students appear to leave full-time education too soon, despite the possibility of high returns from further investment in their education. One contributory factor may be insufficient information about the potential consequences of their choices. We investigate students’ receptiveness to an information campaign about the costs and benefits of pursuing postcompulsory education. Our results show that students with higher expected net benefits from accessing information are more likely to avail themselves of the opportunity presented by our experiment. Their intention to stay on in post-16 education is strongly affected by the experiment, though not their intention to apply to university. Effects are heterogeneous by family background and gender.