The Joint Role of School and Home Inputs in Children’s Learning

We estimate a production function of learning in Vietnam, a country which is unique among Lower and Middle Income Countries in the exceptionally high learning levels which are achieved for its level of wealth. The rich longitudinal data we use allows us to model primary school children’s skills as a function of both home and school inputs. We include parents’ time and material investment, and child time investment as home inputs, and class value added as school inputs. Our results suggest that school inputs and time investment (both by parents and the child) are important determinants of math and language achievement, while material investment play an important role for high ability children only. Home and school inputs are (if anything) substitutes in the production of child skills. Parents appear to react to higher classroom quality by investing more in their children.