Changing returns to education in times of prosperity and crisis, Thailand 1985-1998

Using data from Thailand's National Labor Force Surveys, this paper describes changes in the distribution of educational attainment among young men and women, and assesses changes in the returns to schooling. The results show that the average educational attainment of the population increased between 1985 and 1998, and that the inequities in educational attainment between rural and urban areas declined. The analyses show that the impact of education on earnings fluctuates widely depending on the level of schooling completed and gender. While the value of years of schooling is generally stable over time, the impact of completing secondary or higher education depends on the time and gender. The policy implications of this research focus on the importance of adopting a diversified strategy to educational investments at the national level, rather than simply using rates of return evidence to make decisions about how to expand education. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.