Pub Date : 2025-09-25DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102719
Samuel Lüthi
This study examines the effects of firm-based (or dual) vocational education and training (VET) on labour market and educational outcomes. Using Swiss administrative data, I compare graduates of dual and school-based VET, all of whom have studied the same curriculum and received the same diploma. In addition to municipality fixed effects models, I use distance to the nearest full-time VET school as an instrumental variable to identify the causal effect. The results show that dual VET is far more effective for securing first employment, especially for men and for occupations with loose labour market conditions. For causal channels, dual VET not only provides the possibility of remaining in the training firm upon graduation but is also more effective among those who do not remain. However, as school-based VET graduates are more likely to progress to higher education, the overall results show that each form of VET has a comparative advantage.
{"title":"Classroom versus workbench: The impact of firm-based learning on labour market and educational outcomes","authors":"Samuel Lüthi","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102719","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102719","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the effects of firm-based (or dual) vocational education and training (VET) on labour market and educational outcomes. Using Swiss administrative data, I compare graduates of dual and school-based VET, all of whom have studied the same curriculum and received the same diploma. In addition to municipality fixed effects models, I use distance to the nearest full-time VET school as an instrumental variable to identify the causal effect. The results show that dual VET is far more effective for securing first employment, especially for men and for occupations with loose labour market conditions. For causal channels, dual VET not only provides the possibility of remaining in the training firm upon graduation but is also more effective among those who do not remain. However, as school-based VET graduates are more likely to progress to higher education, the overall results show that each form of VET has a comparative advantage.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102719"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158090","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-24DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102723
Ari Anisfeld , Elizabeth Bell , Oded Gurantz , Dennis A. Kramer II
Governments must strike a balance between promoting access to financial aid while at the same time remaining good stewards of taxpayer funds by preventing fraudulent access. This paper focuses on one of the largest-scale and most consequential policies determining whether students maintain access to Title IV aid, the “Return of Title IV” funds policy, referred to as R2T4. Students receiving Title IV aid who withdraw from college before completing the academic term are subject to an R2T4 calculation that could require the student or college to pay back any unearned Title IV funds to the federal government. We estimate the causal impacts of the R2T4 policy on student outcomes in a regression discontinuity design, leveraging a cutoff in the formula that determines whether a student or their college is required to return aid. We find that students at our threshold, who earn 60 percent of the federal aid to which they were entitled, must return $1,600 on average. Such debt makes students almost four percentage points less likely to re-enroll in college the following year and 2.6 percentage points within 4 years. These results are driven by students in the bottom half of the R2T4 income distribution who experience persistent enrollment declines of roughly 5.5 percentage points. Our findings add to a growing body of literature revealing the detrimental impacts of complex administrative processes on student outcomes, particularly for students from marginalized communities interacting with federal policies.
{"title":"Costly withdrawals reduce future college-going for low-income students: Evidence from Return of Title IV funds","authors":"Ari Anisfeld , Elizabeth Bell , Oded Gurantz , Dennis A. Kramer II","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102723","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102723","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Governments must strike a balance between promoting access to financial aid while at the same time remaining good stewards of taxpayer funds by preventing fraudulent access. This paper focuses on one of the largest-scale and most consequential policies determining whether students maintain access to Title IV aid, the “Return of Title IV” funds policy, referred to as R2T4. Students receiving Title IV aid who withdraw from college before completing the academic term are subject to an R2T4 calculation that could require the student or college to pay back any unearned Title IV funds to the federal government. We estimate the causal impacts of the R2T4 policy on student outcomes in a regression discontinuity design, leveraging a cutoff in the formula that determines whether a student or their college is required to return aid. We find that students at our threshold, who earn 60 percent of the federal aid to which they were entitled, must return $1,600 on average. Such debt makes students almost four percentage points less likely to re-enroll in college the following year and 2.6 percentage points within 4 years. These results are driven by students in the bottom half of the R2T4 income distribution who experience persistent enrollment declines of roughly 5.5 percentage points. Our findings add to a growing body of literature revealing the detrimental impacts of complex administrative processes on student outcomes, particularly for students from marginalized communities interacting with federal policies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102723"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-24DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102720
Samuel Stemper
International assessments such as PISA and TIMSS are widely used to compare the academic proficiency of adolescents across countries and over time. Are scores on these assessments associated with outcomes in adulthood? Combining data from mathematics scores in PISA, TIMSS, and PIAAC, and adulthood outcomes from 18 representative global surveys, I compare the relative associations of PISA and TIMSS scores with later outcomes among cohorts that took both tests during adolescence. Results suggest that cohorts with higher test scores perform better on assessments of adulthood skills, obtain higher levels of education, and have higher incomes as adults. I find suggestive evidence that PISA scores exhibit a relatively stronger relationship with education and income in adulthood compared to TIMSS scores.
{"title":"Trends in international assessments and outcomes in adulthood","authors":"Samuel Stemper","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102720","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102720","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>International assessments such as PISA and TIMSS are widely used to compare the academic proficiency of adolescents across countries and over time. Are scores on these assessments associated with outcomes in adulthood? Combining data from mathematics scores in PISA, TIMSS, and PIAAC, and adulthood outcomes from 18 representative global surveys, I compare the relative associations of PISA and TIMSS scores with later outcomes among cohorts that took both tests during adolescence. Results suggest that cohorts with higher test scores perform better on assessments of adulthood skills, obtain higher levels of education, and have higher incomes as adults. I find suggestive evidence that PISA scores exhibit a relatively stronger relationship with education and income in adulthood compared to TIMSS scores.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102720"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145118853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Attending college is a significant human capital investment, but only about 60 % of those who start college will have a completed degree six years later. This makes identifying the skills associated with college success an important policy concern. We surveyed over 1100 entering college freshmen, majoring in business and engineering at a public university in the US, and combined this information with administrative data to create a comprehensive data set that, in addition to the usual academic performance data, cognitive ability measures, and demographics, also included measures of non-cognitive skills, personality traits, student expectations about college grades and performance at graduation. With this information, we analyzed whether students’ subjective expectations about their future grades at graduation are related to non-cognitive skills and whether these expectations align with their actual college performance. We then study factors associated with overperformance and underperformance, beyond what was expected based on past grades and student-observed demographic characteristics, both at the end of their freshman year and at graduation. We also study factors associated with graduation outcomes. We find that non-cognitive skills related to conscientiousness are associated with subjective grade expectations and objective grade performance in college, even after controlling for cognitive ability. However, they do not help predict eventual graduation or on-time graduation. Nevertheless, many students enter college with subjective grade expectations that do not align with their actual performance, which can influence their on-time graduation.
{"title":"Unlocking college potential: The role of student expectations and non-cognitive skills in college success","authors":"Gema Zamarro, Malachi Nichols, Julie Trivitt, Rian Djita","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102718","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102718","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Attending college is a significant human capital investment, but only about 60 % of those who start college will have a completed degree six years later. This makes identifying the skills associated with college success an important policy concern. We surveyed over 1100 entering college freshmen, majoring in business and engineering at a public university in the US, and combined this information with administrative data to create a comprehensive data set that, in addition to the usual academic performance data, cognitive ability measures, and demographics, also included measures of non-cognitive skills, personality traits, student expectations about college grades and performance at graduation. With this information, we analyzed whether students’ subjective expectations about their future grades at graduation are related to non-cognitive skills and whether these expectations align with their actual college performance. We then study factors associated with overperformance and underperformance, beyond what was expected based on past grades and student-observed demographic characteristics, both at the end of their freshman year and at graduation. We also study factors associated with graduation outcomes. We find that non-cognitive skills related to conscientiousness are associated with subjective grade expectations and objective grade performance in college, even after controlling for cognitive ability. However, they do not help predict eventual graduation or on-time graduation. Nevertheless, many students enter college with subjective grade expectations that do not align with their actual performance, which can influence their on-time graduation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102718"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145106520","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-18DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102716
Ha Trong Nguyen , Tomasz Zając , Wojtek Tomaszewski , Francis Mitrou
This study employs 2011 Census data linked to population-based administrative datasets to explore disparities in educational attainment and earnings trajectories among Australian-born children of diverse parental migration backgrounds from mid-adolescence to early adulthood. Non-English Speaking Background (NESB) second-generation immigrants exhibit superior academic outcomes, primarily driven by children of parents from select Asian countries. These individuals are more likely to complete higher education, particularly bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and specialise in fields such as management and commerce, health, natural and physical sciences, and engineering. Children of NESB immigrant parents initially earn less than their peers with Australian-born parents at ages 21–22. However, this gap closes by ages 23–24 and reverses by ages 26–27, with children of NESB fathers out-earning their counterparts by ages 28–29. Conversely, children of English-Speaking Background (ESB) immigrant parents, who exhibit weaker academic performance, also experience lower earnings compared to peers with Australian-born parents. This disparity emerges by ages 22–23 and widens throughout the study period, peaking at ages 28–29. The findings underscore the academic and economic advantages of NESB second-generation immigrants, contrasting with the challenges faced by ESB migrant counterparts. Overall, the results highlight the critical role of education in supporting the economic integration of migrants and their descendants in the host country.
{"title":"Educational pathways and earnings trajectories of second-generation immigrants in Australia: New insights from linked census-administrative data","authors":"Ha Trong Nguyen , Tomasz Zając , Wojtek Tomaszewski , Francis Mitrou","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102716","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102716","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study employs 2011 Census data linked to population-based administrative datasets to explore disparities in educational attainment and earnings trajectories among Australian-born children of diverse parental migration backgrounds from mid-adolescence to early adulthood. Non-English Speaking Background (NESB) second-generation immigrants exhibit superior academic outcomes, primarily driven by children of parents from select Asian countries. These individuals are more likely to complete higher education, particularly bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and specialise in fields such as management and commerce, health, natural and physical sciences, and engineering. Children of NESB immigrant parents initially earn less than their peers with Australian-born parents at ages 21–22. However, this gap closes by ages 23–24 and reverses by ages 26–27, with children of NESB fathers out-earning their counterparts by ages 28–29. Conversely, children of English-Speaking Background (ESB) immigrant parents, who exhibit weaker academic performance, also experience lower earnings compared to peers with Australian-born parents. This disparity emerges by ages 22–23 and widens throughout the study period, peaking at ages 28–29. The findings underscore the academic and economic advantages of NESB second-generation immigrants, contrasting with the challenges faced by ESB migrant counterparts. Overall, the results highlight the critical role of education in supporting the economic integration of migrants and their descendants in the host country.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102716"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145106519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-13DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102708
Paul N. Thompson
Four-day school week schedules are being adopted with increasing frequency, to promote teacher retention and recruitment in the face of growing teacher shortages. This study examines the effects of four-day school week adoption on teacher turnover. Using teacher employment records in Missouri and Oklahoma from 2009–2019 and a difference-in-differences empirical design, I find that, overall, four-day school week adoption has an insignificant effect on teacher retention and increased four-day school week prevalence in the local teacher labor market leads to increased teacher turnover. These overall effects, however, mask important effects on several key components of turnover, including small retention effects amongst teachers that would have left for another four-day school week district. The increase in overall turnover stemming from growth in four-day school week prevalence in the local area is driven in part by four-day school week districts recruiting teachers out of geographically close five-day school week districts. However, as the local teacher labor market becomes more saturated with four-day school week districts, some teachers are more likely to exit the teaching profession entirely. Beneficial teacher recruitment and retention effects are most prevalent in rural schools, in states where the four-day school week is motivated by teacher recruitment and retention efforts, and amongst teachers that are women, white, Bachelor’s degree holders, and young to mid-career teachers. Effects on teaching exit due to increased four-day school week prevalence in the local teacher labor market are seen for most subgroups, but most pronounced for non-white teachers and advanced degree holders. These heterogeneous effects help reconcile the mixed results observed in four-day school week teacher retention and recruitment effects across different states examined in the existing four-day school week literature.
{"title":"Four-day school weeks and teacher mobility: Evidence from Missouri and Oklahoma","authors":"Paul N. Thompson","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102708","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102708","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Four-day school week schedules are being adopted with increasing frequency, to promote teacher retention and recruitment in the face of growing teacher shortages. This study examines the effects of four-day school week adoption on teacher turnover. Using teacher employment records in Missouri and Oklahoma from 2009–2019 and a difference-in-differences empirical design, I find that, overall, four-day school week adoption has an insignificant effect on teacher retention and increased four-day school week prevalence in the local teacher labor market leads to increased teacher turnover. These overall effects, however, mask important effects on several key components of turnover, including small retention effects amongst teachers that would have left for another four-day school week district. The increase in overall turnover stemming from growth in four-day school week prevalence in the local area is driven in part by four-day school week districts recruiting teachers out of geographically close five-day school week districts. However, as the local teacher labor market becomes more saturated with four-day school week districts, some teachers are more likely to exit the teaching profession entirely. Beneficial teacher recruitment and retention effects are most prevalent in rural schools, in states where the four-day school week is motivated by teacher recruitment and retention efforts, and amongst teachers that are women, white, Bachelor’s degree holders, and young to mid-career teachers. Effects on teaching exit due to increased four-day school week prevalence in the local teacher labor market are seen for most subgroups, but most pronounced for non-white teachers and advanced degree holders. These heterogeneous effects help reconcile the mixed results observed in four-day school week teacher retention and recruitment effects across different states examined in the existing four-day school week literature.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102708"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145049796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-11DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102703
Zuoqi Zhang , Andrew M. Jones , Nigel Rice
Do people with stronger abilities have a greater probability of progressing to higher levels of education? We address this question by examining the influence of childhood cognitive and non-cognitive abilities on three sequential educational decisions made following completion of compulsory education. Using data from the 1970 British Cohort Study, we specify a structural model which combines a sequential decision model with a cognitive development model, and apply confirmatory factor analysis in a measurement model for latent abilities. Estimation follows a structural equation modelling approach. We find that both cognitive and non-cognitive abilities have positive selection effects on encouraging people to progress to the next stage of education irrespective of the level completed. For females preschool cognitive ability plays a more important role in determining educational decisions than it does for men.
{"title":"The selection effect of childhood abilities on educational decisions","authors":"Zuoqi Zhang , Andrew M. Jones , Nigel Rice","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102703","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102703","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Do people with stronger abilities have a greater probability of progressing to higher levels of education? We address this question by examining the influence of childhood cognitive and non-cognitive abilities on three sequential educational decisions made following completion of compulsory education. Using data from the 1970 British Cohort Study, we specify a structural model which combines a sequential decision model with a cognitive development model, and apply confirmatory factor analysis in a measurement model for latent abilities. Estimation follows a structural equation modelling approach. We find that both cognitive and non-cognitive abilities have positive selection effects on encouraging people to progress to the next stage of education irrespective of the level completed. For females preschool cognitive ability plays a more important role in determining educational decisions than it does for men.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102703"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145049794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-11DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102706
Roberto Araya , Julian Cristia , Lisseth Escalante , Raissa Fabregas , Carolina Méndez , Gera Ríos
The use of self-led educational technologies holds significant potential for improving student learning at scale, but sustaining student engagement with these platforms remains a challenge. We present results from an experimental evaluation implemented following the scale-up of a math platform in Peru, where primary school teachers received weekly WhatsApp messages summarizing their students’ platform activity and encouraging them to promote engagement. The messages increased the average weekly share of students using the platform by 5 percentage points (a 17% increase) and the average share of math exercises completed by 4 percentage points (a 16% increase). Effects dissipated once the messages stopped, suggesting that salience and simplified monitoring are likely mechanisms. We find little evidence of impact heterogeneity based on teacher characteristics or students’ prior platform use and achievement. Non-experimental evidence suggests that increased use of the student math platform improved math learning. Overall, our findings indicate that light-touch communication with teachers can cost-effectively strengthen engagement with EdTech platforms scaled through the education system.
{"title":"Messaging teachers to boost student EdTech use","authors":"Roberto Araya , Julian Cristia , Lisseth Escalante , Raissa Fabregas , Carolina Méndez , Gera Ríos","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102706","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102706","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The use of self-led educational technologies holds significant potential for improving student learning at scale, but sustaining student engagement with these platforms remains a challenge. We present results from an experimental evaluation implemented following the scale-up of a math platform in Peru, where primary school teachers received weekly WhatsApp messages summarizing their students’ platform activity and encouraging them to promote engagement. The messages increased the average weekly share of students using the platform by 5 percentage points (a 17% increase) and the average share of math exercises completed by 4 percentage points (a 16% increase). Effects dissipated once the messages stopped, suggesting that salience and simplified monitoring are likely mechanisms. We find little evidence of impact heterogeneity based on teacher characteristics or students’ prior platform use and achievement. Non-experimental evidence suggests that increased use of the student math platform improved math learning. Overall, our findings indicate that light-touch communication with teachers can cost-effectively strengthen engagement with EdTech platforms scaled through the education system.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102706"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145049795","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-10DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102709
Sara Cools
I investigate how having an older sister rather than brother matters for the school performance of younger siblings, using administrative register data for Norwegian school children. Having an older sister improves second borns’ grade point average at the end of compulsory education by 2.6 percent of a standard deviation. The older sister advantage is roughly equal in size for second born boys and girls, and across subjects. Further analyses indicate that mode of evaluation matters, while the size of the subject-specific gender gap does not. Investigations into mechanisms suggest transmission of social and/or language skills from older to younger siblings.
{"title":"Older sisters and younger siblings: How is school performance affected by sibling gender?","authors":"Sara Cools","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102709","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102709","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>I investigate how having an older sister rather than brother matters for the school performance of younger siblings, using administrative register data for Norwegian school children. Having an older sister improves second borns’ grade point average at the end of compulsory education by 2.6 percent of a standard deviation. The older sister advantage is roughly equal in size for second born boys and girls, and across subjects. Further analyses indicate that mode of evaluation matters, while the size of the subject-specific gender gap does not. Investigations into mechanisms suggest transmission of social and/or language skills from older to younger siblings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102709"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145027297","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-03DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102707
Joseph Han , Jae-Yun Lee , Chamna Yoon
This study empirically investigates the effects of a policy change in the Republic of Korea that lifted the restriction requiring universities to admit students to groups of departments rather than to single departments. Entry cohorts affected by the policy change had to specify their majors from the beginning of their college education. Using this policy-driven change in the timing of specialization, we find that early specialization lowered wages during early career. This negative wage effect was not driven by selection at admissions or students choosing lower-paying majors and occupations, although graduated majors shifted toward less popular majors. Rather, it is related to their employment in lower-paying industries, which is closely linked to weak local labor demand at the time of graduation. These findings are consistent with less adaptive skills to navigate unexpected changes in the labor market.
{"title":"Early specialization in higher education and labor market outcomes","authors":"Joseph Han , Jae-Yun Lee , Chamna Yoon","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102707","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102707","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study empirically investigates the effects of a policy change in the Republic of Korea that lifted the restriction requiring universities to admit students to groups of departments rather than to single departments. Entry cohorts affected by the policy change had to specify their majors from the beginning of their college education. Using this policy-driven change in the timing of specialization, we find that early specialization lowered wages during early career. This negative wage effect was not driven by selection at admissions or students choosing lower-paying majors and occupations, although graduated majors shifted toward less popular majors. Rather, it is related to their employment in lower-paying industries, which is closely linked to weak local labor demand at the time of graduation. These findings are consistent with less adaptive skills to navigate unexpected changes in the labor market.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"109 ","pages":"Article 102707"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144989526","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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