Monday 24 October 2016

Using survey data to estimate the value of vocational qualifications


CVER's Steven McIntosh and Damon Morris, from University of Sheffield, look at the value of vocational qualifications


An important part of the research programme at CVER is to investigate the ‘returns’ to vocational qualifications, that is, the wage premiums earned by individuals who hold such qualifications. The results of such research provide important information to policy-makers about the value the labour market places on qualifications, as well as to individuals making decisions about what courses to pursue. Our work will provide up-to-date evidence on this topic, using a comprehensive range of data sets and methodologies.

Monday 3 October 2016

Low-achieving teenagers: Evidence from France of the potential of low-cost interventions to clarify educational options

Eric Maurin from the Paris School of Economics is an expert advisor for CVER and presented this work at our recent conference


A simple programme of meetings facilitated by school principals and targeted at low-achieving 15 year olds can help them to identify educational opportunities that fit both their tastes and their academic ability. That is the central finding of a large-scale randomised experiment in Paris, conducted by economic researchers Dominique Goux, Marc Gurgand and Eric Maurin.

Their study, which is forthcoming in the Economic Journal, reveals that the outcome of an intervention in deprived neighbourhoods of Paris has been a very significant reduction in the number of students repeating educational years (‘grade repetition’) and in the number of students dropping out of school altogether. Compared with most existing interventions, this is a very low cost way to help young people who struggle at school to find the educational track most suited to their needs.