Return to Education by Ethnicity in Indonesia
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Date
2022-01-13
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Abstract
This study aims to examine the return to education in Indonesia by ethnicity using Instrumental Variable (IV) approach on Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) in 2014/2015. We found that IV models are more appropriate to estimate returns to education in Indonesia rather than OLS estimation. Moreover, the ethnicity factor is better to treat as a grouping variable rather than as an instrumental variable. Disaggregating our samples into six ethnic groups, this study found that all ethnic groups except the Chinese group fit the IV estimation. For non-Chinese groups, Bataknese and Minangnese show the highest return to education. The strong enthusiasm in education cultures, as a part of cultural native properties in Bataknese and Minangnese, become the reason of the high return to education in these ethnics. Being married, being a man, working in public sector, and living in urban area also positively influence earnings. Based on these results, the ethnic-cultural aspects should be involved in the national curriculum, not just as part of the local curriculum. Government should also pay attention on gender segregation, occupational prospects, and urban-rural growth since these factors directly impact earnings.
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ethnicity, instrumental variable, return to education