Browsing by Author "Teal, Francis"

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    The Dynamics of Returns to Education in Kenyan and Tanzanian Manufacturing
    (University of Oxford, 2006-05-10) Söderbom, Måns; Teal, Francis; Wambugu, Anthony; Kahyarara, Godius W.
    We use micro data on manufacturing employees in Kenya and Tanzania to estimate returns to education and investigate the shape of the earnings function in the period 1993-2001. In Kenya, there have been long run falls in the returns to education while for Tanzania there is evidence of rising returns in the 1990s. The earnings functions are convex for both countries and this result is robust to endogeneity. Convexity may be part of the explanation as to how rapid expansion of education in Africa has generated so little growth if expansion has been concentrated at lower levels of education.
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    General or Vocational Education? Evidences from the Returns to Education in Tanzanian Manufacturing Firms
    (2006-03) Kahyarara, Godius W.; Teal, Francis
    Although the debate over the returns to vocational versus general education has become an important research in education, adequate empirical work in Africa is still lacking. We add new evidence to this debate by comparing returns to vocational and general education of workers in Tanzanian manufacturing firms. Whereas most of the previous evidences are based on cross sectional data, this paper provides a comparison of the returns to general and vocational education using firm level panel data with substantial information that allows a control for time invariant firm attributes, endogeneity of education and other worker- firm characteristics. Findings of this paper are that general education is more rewarding than vocational education and on the job training. The marginal rates of returns to one year of education ranges between 4.8 and 17.5 percent compared to the rates of returns to one year of vocational education that ranges between 1.4 and 2.8 percent. The results are stable even after we control for endogeneity, firmworker characteristics and firm fixed effects. Therefore we reject the hypothesis that returns to vocational training are higher than the returns to general education. The paper also shows that at high level of general education unemployment in the Tanzanian labour market is low. Based on this paperís findings vocational education cannot substitute general education. Hence it is justifiable for individuals to acquire more of general education and acquire vocational education and training after general education. There is economic rationale for allocating more resources to the general education.
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    To train or to Educate? Evidence from Tanzania
    (2006-09) Kahyarara, Godius W.; Teal, Francis
    How do the returns to academic education compare with those from vocational education and training? We address this question for Tanzania allowing for the entry level into vocational education and for the characteristics of the employing firm. If the firm fixed effect captures unobserved worker quality then the return to vocational education, at the level at which it occurs, exceeds that on academic education. However the return to any form of vocational training is less than that achieved by those who reach A-Level and above. While those with current training earn more this effect disappears once we allow for firm fixed effects.