Cognitive Skills Among Children in Senegal: Disentangling the Roles of Schooling and Family Background

Cornell Food and Nutrition Policy Program Working Paper No. 189

29 Pages Posted: 2 Nov 2005 Last revised: 1 Feb 2008

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: June 5, 2007

Abstract

We use unique data to estimate the determinants of cognitive ability among 14 to 17 year olds in Senegal. Unlike standard school-based samples, tests were administered to current students as well as to children no longer - or never - enrolled. Years of schooling strongly affects cognitive skills, but conditional on years of school, parental education and household wealth, as well as local public school quality, have only modest effects on test performance. Instead, family background primarily affects skills indirectly through the duration of schooling. Therefore closing the schooling gaps between poor and wealthy children will also close most of the gap in cognitive skills between these groups.

Keywords: Human capital, demand for schooling, educational economics

JEL Classification: I21, J24

Suggested Citation

Glick, Peter and Sahn, David E., Cognitive Skills Among Children in Senegal: Disentangling the Roles of Schooling and Family Background (June 5, 2007). Cornell Food and Nutrition Policy Program Working Paper No. 189, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=832145 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.832145

Peter Glick (Contact Author)

RAND Corporation ( email )

1200 South Hayes Street
Arlington, VA 22202
United States

David E. Sahn

Cornell University ( email )

B16 MVR Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
United States
607-255-8931 (Phone)
607-255-0178 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://courses.cit.cornell.edu/des16

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