Author(s)
Laia Navarro-Sola

In areas with an insufficient supply of qualified teachers, delivering instruction through technology may be a solution to provide education. This paper analyzes the educational and labor market impacts of an expansion of junior secondary education in Mexico through schools using televised lessons, the telesecundarias. Exploiting their staggered rollout from 1968 to 2000, I show that for every additional telesecundaria per 50 children, ten students enroll in junior secondary education. I find that an additional year of education increases long-run income by 12.5–13.9%, driven partly by increased labor force participation and a shift away from agriculture and the informal sector.

Publication Type
Working Paper
File Description
First version, December 7, 2021
JEL Codes
I28: Education: Government Policy
O15: Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
J24: Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
Keywords
secondary education
educational attainment
returns to education