MICRO AND MACRO DETERMINANTS OF ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: AN EMPIRICAL EXAMINATION

Abstract

Previous empirical evidence shows that benefits of education, both at the individual and aggregate levels, arise from quality rather than quantity of education. But what factors influence quality of education? Capturing quality of education by academic performance, this study therefore aims to examine both the micro and macro determinants of academic performance. For this purpose, the study utilizes two data sets. The first data set consists of 96 cross-sectional observations collected as part of the applied econometrics course at University of Malakand. The second data set consists of macro-level data collected from World Bank’s databases and Human Capital Index. The data sets are analyzed using rigorous econometric analysis. The results of the study revealed that academic performance at the micro level is significantly influenced by students’ academic motivation and family size.The results also show that boarder students outperform day scholars in academics. At the macro level, the study revealed that proportion of the population covered by social security schemes, gross domestic product per capita, the proportion of the population using internet, survival rate (as a proxy for academic motivation), and proportion of trained teachers in upper secondary education have a positive and significant impact on academic performance of the students.