Schooling Quality in a Cross-Section of Countries

Abstract

We investigate the determinants of educational quality in a newly-constructed panel data set that includes output and input measures for a broad number of countries. The results show that family inputs and school resources are closely related to school outcomes, as measured by internationally comparable test scores, repetition rates, and drop-out rates. Family characteristics, such as income and education of parents, have strong effects on student performance. The findings also indicate that more school resources- especially smaller class sizes but probably also higher teacher salaries and greater school length- enhance educational outcomes.