Ahmed Zaky

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between years of educational attainment and governance using panel data from 147 countries. The statistical model in this study analyzes the relationship between Average Years of Schooling, and the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators that represent governance exclusively. We assess whether average years of schooling can significantly predict governance when using controls and fixed effects. We also use average years of primary schooling, secondary schooling, and tertiary schooling to assess whether or not a change in a specific educational level; primary, secondary, or tertiary, shows more significance in relationship to quality of governance. Based on this initial analysis we find that years of educational attainment in at least one of the educational levels predict quality of governance. We also carry out a second analysis using the same statistical model but divide the initial dataset into three subsets; “Free”, “Partly Free”, and “Not Free” countries, based on the Freedom House categorization. The results indicate that educational attainment is only a predictor of quality of governance in the “Free” countries subset. This indicates the need to focus on statistical analysis of country subsets with similar “deeply-instilled attitudes,” as clarified by the revised version of modernization theory, in order to reach conclusive results.

Department

Public Policy & Administration Department

Degree Name

MA in Public Policy

Graduation Date

2-1-2016

Submission Date

February 2017

First Advisor

Ali, Hamid

Committee Member 1

Barsoum, Ghada

Committee Member 2

Hamza, Karim

Extent

79 p.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights

The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Not necessary for this item

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