School quality and the distribution of male earnings in Canada

Using quantile regressions, this paper provides evidence that the relationship between school inputs and wages varies across points in the conditional wage distribution and educational attainment levels. Although smaller classes generally have a positive return for individuals at high quantiles, they have either no impact or a negative impact at low quantiles. Similarly, while more highly paid teachers benefit dropouts at high quantiles and graduates at low quantiles, they have a negative return for all other quantile-education groups. The results presented in this paper also suggest that the optimal school for high school graduates is likely smaller than for high school dropouts.