Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/35454 
Year of Publication: 
2009
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 4047
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Using a model of O-ring production function, the paper demonstrates how certain communities can get caught in a low-literacy trap in which each individual finds it not worthwhile investing in higher skills because others are not high-skilled. The model sheds light on educational policy. It is shown that policy for promoting human capital has to take the form of a mechanism for solving the coordination failure in people's choice of educational strategy.
Subjects: 
Education
literacy
O-ring
skill formation
traps
JEL: 
D20
I28
J31
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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