Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • More
    • Feedback
    • Request JHR at your library
    • Research Highlights
  • Alerts
  • Other Publications
    • UWP

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Human Resources
  • Other Publications
    • UWP
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Human Resources

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Ahead of print
    • Archive
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • More
    • Feedback
    • Request JHR at your library
    • Research Highlights
  • Alerts
  • Follow uwp on Twitter
Research ArticleArticles
Open Access

School Choice and Educational Mobility: Lessons from Secondary School Applications in Ghana

Kehinde F. Ajayi
Published online before print April 05, 2022, 0417-8714R2; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.0417-8714R2
Kehinde F. Ajayi
* Kehinde F. Ajayi is an economist in the Africa Gender Innovation Lab at the World Bank ().
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: [email protected]
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Merit-based school choice often presents an unfulfilled promise of educational mobility. In Ghana, where a standardized exam determines secondary school admission, students from low-performing elementary schools apply to weaker secondary schools than equally qualified students from high-performing elementary schools. This paper investigates why students with the same academic potential make different application choices. I outline a theoretical model and empirical strategy to analyze heterogeneity in student demand. Using administrative data, I show that disadvantaged students value school proximity more and live farther away from high-performing schools, suggesting the interaction between demand and the spatial distribution of schools limits educational mobility.

JEL codes:
  • I24
  • O15

This open access article is distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND license. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) and is freely available online at: http://jhr.uwpress.org

PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of Human Resources: 58 (3)
Journal of Human Resources
Vol. 58, Issue 3
1 May 2023
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Back Matter (PDF)
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Journal of Human Resources.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
School Choice and Educational Mobility: Lessons from Secondary School Applications in Ghana
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Journal of Human Resources
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Journal of Human Resources web site.
Citation Tools
School Choice and Educational Mobility: Lessons from Secondary School Applications in Ghana
Kehinde F. Ajayi
Journal of Human Resources Apr 2022, 0417-8714R2; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.0417-8714R2

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
School Choice and Educational Mobility: Lessons from Secondary School Applications in Ghana
Kehinde F. Ajayi
Journal of Human Resources Apr 2022, 0417-8714R2; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.0417-8714R2
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Bookmark this article

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Where versus What: College Value-Added and Returns to Field of Study in Further Education
  • Female Executives and the Motherhood Penalty
  • The Effect of Fraternity Moratoriums on Alcohol Offenses and Sexual Assaults
Show more Articles

Similar Articles

Keywords

  • I24
  • O15
UWP

© 2023 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

Powered by HighWire