Labor/Public Finance/Econometrics - Eric Bettinger

Eric Bettinger

Stanford University

College and Labor Market Effects of Vouchers for Private Secondary Schooling in Colombia: Evidence from a Randomized Policy Experiment

Abstract

We use administrative data to investigate college and labor market effects of vouchers for private secondary schooling in Colombia fifteen years after initial voucher receipt.  When demand exceed availability vouchers were allocated by a lottery.  We use this initial random assignment to document that voucher winners, particularly men, are more likely to attend, persist and graduate from college, likely because they are more likely to receive government financial aid. Voucher winners, especially men, earn ten percent more than voucher losers, an effect that we interpret as a productivity gain because there are no differences between winners and losers in the probability of formal sector employment or work days.  Our labor market results indicate that in the Colombian context vouchers for private secondary schooling are highly cost-effective.