The Value of Vocational Education : High School Type and Labor Market Outcomes in Indonesia

This paper examines the relationship between the type of senior high school attended by Indonesian youth and their subsequent labor market outcomes. This topic is very timely, given the government s recent decision to dramatically expand vocational enrollment. The analysis controls for an unusually rich set of predetermined characteristics, and exploits longitudinal data spanning 14 years to separately identify cohort and age effects. There are four main findings. First, students are sorted into different school types largely on the basis of their entering exam score. Public schools attract the highest-scoring students, while private vocational schools serve the lowest-scoring students. Second, after controlling for a variety of characteristics, including test scores, male public school graduates earn a substantial premium over their privately schooled counterparts. Third, private vocational school graduates fare at least as well as private general graduates, despite coming from more disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. Finally, the returns to public vocational education have declined sharply for the most recent cohort of men. This raises important concerns about the current expansion of public vocational education, and the relevance of the male vocational curriculum in an increasingly service-oriented economy.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Newhouse, David, Suryadarma, Daniel
Format: Policy Research Working Paper biblioteca
Language:English
Published: 2009-09-01
Subjects:ACADEMIC ABILITY, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, ACADEMIC EDUCATION, ACCESS TO DATA, ATTRITION, AVERAGE TEST SCORES, AVERAGE WAGE, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, CAREER, COHORT OF STUDENTS, COST PER PUPIL, CURRICULUM, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMICS OF EDUCATION, EDUCATED PARENTS, EDUCATED WORKERS, EDUCATION CURRICULUM, EDUCATION FACILITIES, EDUCATION LEVELS, EDUCATION SYSTEM, EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, EDUCATIONAL QUALITY, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, EMPLOYEE, EMPLOYMENT, EMPLOYMENT GROWTH, EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES, EMPLOYMENT STATUS, ENROLLMENT TRENDS, ESTIMATED PROBABILITY, EXAM, EXAM SCORE, EXAMS, EXOGENOUS CHARACTERISTICS, FAMILY LIFE, GENDER DIFFERENCES, GENERAL HIGH SCHOOLS, GRADE REPETITION, HIGH SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES, HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, HIGH SCHOOLS, HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT, HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RATES, HIGHER EDUCATION, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, HOUSEHOLD SURVEY, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, HUMAN RESOURCES, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, JOB SATISFACTION, JOB SEARCH, JOBS, JUNIOR SECONDARY, JUNIOR SECONDARY EDUCATION, JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL, LABOR FORCE, LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION, LABOR MARKET EXPERIENCE, LABOR MARKET INDICATOR, LABOR MARKET OUTCOME, LABOR MARKET OUTCOMES, LABOR MARKET PARTICIPATION, LABOUR, LABOUR FORCE, LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION, LITERATURE, LOCAL LABOR MARKET, LOCAL LABOR MARKET CONDITIONS, LOWER SECONDARY, LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL, MALE WORKERS, MARINE STUDIES, MATERNAL EDUCATION, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, NATIONAL EDUCATION, NATIONAL EXAMINATIONS, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, OCCUPATION, OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT, PAPERS, PARENTAL EDUCATION, PATERNAL EDUCATION, PERMANENT WORKERS, PRIMARY DATA, PRIMARY SCHOOL, PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS, PRIVATE PRIVATE, PRIVATE SCHOOL, PRIVATE SCHOOLING, PRIVATE SCHOOLS, PRODUCTIVITY GAINS, PUBLIC EXPENDITURES, PUBLIC FUNDS, PUBLIC SCHOOL, PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS, PUBLIC SCHOOLS, RATES OF RETURN, SCHOOL ATTENDANCE, SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION, SCHOOL COUNTERPARTS, SCHOOL ENROLLMENT, SCHOOL ENROLMENT, SCHOOL EXPANSION, SCHOOL QUALITY, SCHOOL SYSTEM, SCHOOL SYSTEMS, SCHOOL TYPES, SCHOOL-AGE, SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN, SCHOOLS, SECONDARY EDUCATION, SECONDARY EDUCATION SYSTEM, SECONDARY SCHOOL GRADUATES, SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS, SECONDARY STUDENTS, SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL, SENIOR SECONDARY, SENIOR SECONDARY EDUCATION, SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS, SERVICE SECTOR, SKILLED WORKERS, SOCIAL SCIENCE, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SUBJECTS, TEACHERS, TECHNICAL EDUCATION, TEMPORARY WORKERS, TERTIARY EDUCATION, TEST SCORES, TRAINING PROGRAMS, TYPES OF SCHOOLS, UNEMPLOYED, UNEMPLOYMENT RATE, UNEMPLOYMENT RATES, UNIVERSITY DEGREE, UNIVERSITY GRADUATES, VOCATIONAL EDUCATION, VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL, VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS, VOCATIONAL SCHOOL, VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS, VOCATIONAL SECONDARY, VOCATIONAL SECONDARY EDUCATION, VOCATIONAL STUDENTS, VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS, VOCATIONAL TRAINING, VOCATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMS, WAGE EFFECTS, WAGE PREMIUM, WORKER, YOUNG GRADUATES, YOUTH,
Online Access:http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20090901093652
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4229
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Summary:This paper examines the relationship between the type of senior high school attended by Indonesian youth and their subsequent labor market outcomes. This topic is very timely, given the government s recent decision to dramatically expand vocational enrollment. The analysis controls for an unusually rich set of predetermined characteristics, and exploits longitudinal data spanning 14 years to separately identify cohort and age effects. There are four main findings. First, students are sorted into different school types largely on the basis of their entering exam score. Public schools attract the highest-scoring students, while private vocational schools serve the lowest-scoring students. Second, after controlling for a variety of characteristics, including test scores, male public school graduates earn a substantial premium over their privately schooled counterparts. Third, private vocational school graduates fare at least as well as private general graduates, despite coming from more disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. Finally, the returns to public vocational education have declined sharply for the most recent cohort of men. This raises important concerns about the current expansion of public vocational education, and the relevance of the male vocational curriculum in an increasingly service-oriented economy.