C. Journal articles published externally

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Who Benefits from Higher Education in Low- and Middle-Income Countries?

(Taylor and Francis, 2019) Shafiq, M. Najeeb ; Toutkoushian, Robert K. ; Valerio, Alexandria

In this article, we investigate how higher education contributes to the employment and earnings of individuals in labor markets, and whether social origins play a role in the financial benefits from higher education. We focus on these questions in nine low- and middle-income countries: Armenia, Bolivia, Colombia, Georgia, Ghana, Kenya, Laos, Macedonia, and Vietnam. We use the recent Skills Towards Employability and Productivity (STEP) surveys of urban labor force participants to examine individuals’ educational attainment, labor market participation, and earnings. Using logistic regressions, we find that individuals from disadvantaged origins are less likely to obtain a higher education degree. We find that in most of these countries, individuals who have earned a higher education degree are significantly more likely to be in the labor force and find employment, and enjoy sizable earnings premia. The findings are fairly robust with regard to the samples of individuals examined, and the methods used to measure earnings premia. Finally, we find little evidence that the earnings premia from higher education vary by social origins or the likelihood of an individual completing a degree. These results suggest that the benefits from higher education are comparable for individuals from disadvantaged and advantaged social origins.
Well Begun, but Aiming Higher: A Review of Vietnam’s Education Trends in the past 20 Years and Emerging Challenges

(Taylor and Francis, 2018) Dang, Hai-Anh H. ; Glewwe, Paul W.

Given its modest position as a lower-middle-income country, Vietnam stands out from the rest of the world with its remarkable performance on standardized test scores, school enrollment, and completed years of schooling. We provide an overview of the factors behind this exemplary performance both from an institutional viewpoint and by analyzing several different data sources, some of which have rarely been used. Some of the highlights are universal primary school enrollment, higher girls’ net enrollment rates, and the role of within-commune individual factors. We further discuss a host of challenges for the country – most of which have received insufficient attention to date.
Should Parents Work Away from or Close to Home?: The Effect of Parental Absence on Children’s Time Use in Vietnam

(Taylor and Francis, 2015-11-02) Cuong, Nguyen Viet ; Linh, Vu Hoang

Working away from home might bring higher earnings than working near home. However, the absence of parents due to work can have unexpected effects on children. This paper examines the effects of the absence of parents due to work on time allocation of children aged 5–8 years old in Vietnam. The paper relies on fixed-effects regression and panel data from the Young Lives surveys in 2007 and 2009. It finds that children with parental absence tend to spend less time on home study but more time on leisure and playing. The effect of mother absence on home study of children is higher than the effect of father absence. Moreover, children with mother absence are more likely to do housework than other children. This finding highlights the important role of mothers in taking care of children in terms of both education and housework.