Pub Date : 2025-07-16DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102683
Stefan Denzler , Jens Ruhose , Stefan C. Wolter
This paper presents the first longitudinal estimates of the effect of work-related training on labour market outcomes in Switzerland. Using a novel dataset that links official census data on adult education to longitudinal register data on labour market outcomes, we apply a regression-adjusted matched difference-in-differences approach with entropy balancing to account for selection bias and sorting. We find that training participation increases yearly earnings and reduces the risk of unemployment two and three years after the treatment. The effects are heterogeneous as to age, education, and income position, whereby people in the lowest income tercile benefit most from income increases, while the dampening effect on unemployment is more pronounced for those in the highest income tercile.
{"title":"Labour market effects of work-related continuous education in Switzerland – evidence from administrative data","authors":"Stefan Denzler , Jens Ruhose , Stefan C. Wolter","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102683","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102683","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper presents the first longitudinal estimates of the effect of work-related training on labour market outcomes in Switzerland. Using a novel dataset that links official census data on adult education to longitudinal register data on labour market outcomes, we apply a regression-adjusted matched difference-in-differences approach with entropy balancing to account for selection bias and sorting. We find that training participation increases yearly earnings and reduces the risk of unemployment two and three years after the treatment. The effects are heterogeneous as to age, education, and income position, whereby people in the lowest income tercile benefit most from income increases, while the dampening effect on unemployment is more pronounced for those in the highest income tercile.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 102683"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144633877","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 : 2025-07-16DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102682
Chaonuo Dai , Yuzhi Zhou
This paper studies the effects of academic rank and peer achievement on shadow education, such as private tutoring, among secondary students in China. Exploiting the random assignment of students to classrooms, we find that ranking higher relative to peers and better average peer achievement reduce shadow education participation, time use, and monetary expenditure. The effects of rank are more pronounced than peer achievement. Such rank and peer effects are mitigated when parents have imperfect information about a child’s performance, suggesting that educational policies reducing the visibility of precise rank information to parents may reduce the demand for shadow education.
{"title":"Rank, peer achievement, and shadow education: Evidence from secondary school students in China","authors":"Chaonuo Dai , Yuzhi Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102682","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102682","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper studies the effects of academic rank and peer achievement on shadow education, such as private tutoring, among secondary students in China. Exploiting the random assignment of students to classrooms, we find that ranking higher relative to peers and better average peer achievement reduce shadow education participation, time use, and monetary expenditure. The effects of rank are more pronounced than peer achievement. Such rank and peer effects are mitigated when parents have imperfect information about a child’s performance, suggesting that educational policies reducing the visibility of precise rank information to parents may reduce the demand for shadow education.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"108 ","pages":"Article 102682"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144663386","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 : 2025-07-08DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102663
Umut Dur , Robert G. Hammond , Matthew A. Lenard , Melinda Morrill , Thayer Morrill , Colleen Paeplow
Magnet schools provide innovative curricula designed to attract students from other schools within a school district, typically with the joint goals of diversifying enrollment and boosting achievement. Measuring the impact of attending a magnet school is challenging because students choose to apply and schools have priorities over types of students. Moreover, magnet schools may influence non-cognitive skill formation that is not well-reflected in test scores. This study estimates the causal impact of attending a magnet school on student outcomes by leveraging exogenous variation arising from tie breakers embedded in a centralized school assignment mechanism. Using a rich set of administrative data from a large school district, we find robust evidence that attending a magnet school significantly increases student engagement, as measured through absenteeism and on-time progress rates. Students are significantly less likely to change schools when attending a magnet. We find suggestive evidence that attending a magnet school led to higher performance in mathematics and that attending non-language immersion magnet schools increased students’ reading scores. Together, these results suggest that magnet schools — a typically understudied school choice option — can benefit student learning and increase student engagement while enabling the system to achieve its goals of promoting racial and socioeconomic balance through school choice.
{"title":"The attraction of magnet schools: Evidence from embedded lotteries in school assignment","authors":"Umut Dur , Robert G. Hammond , Matthew A. Lenard , Melinda Morrill , Thayer Morrill , Colleen Paeplow","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102663","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102663","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Magnet schools provide innovative curricula designed to attract students from other schools within a school district, typically with the joint goals of diversifying enrollment and boosting achievement. Measuring the impact of attending a magnet school is challenging because students choose to apply and schools have priorities over types of students. Moreover, magnet schools may influence non-cognitive skill formation that is not well-reflected in test scores. This study estimates the causal impact of attending a magnet school on student outcomes by leveraging exogenous variation arising from tie breakers embedded in a centralized school assignment mechanism. Using a rich set of administrative data from a large school district, we find robust evidence that attending a magnet school significantly increases student engagement, as measured through absenteeism and on-time progress rates. Students are significantly less likely to change schools when attending a magnet. We find suggestive evidence that attending a magnet school led to higher performance in mathematics and that attending non-language immersion magnet schools increased students’ reading scores. Together, these results suggest that magnet schools — a typically understudied school choice option — can benefit student learning and increase student engagement while enabling the system to achieve its goals of promoting racial and socioeconomic balance through school choice.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 102663"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144572360","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 : 2025-07-08DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102676
Jiyuan Wang , Rob Alessie , Viola Angelini
In this paper we study whether the presence of financial constraints that limit parents’ ability to borrow and the existence of educational fixed costs can explain the underinvestment of parents in their children’s human capital. We first incorporate these two potential mechanisms into the theoretical model of Raut and Tran (2005) and then we test their empirical relevance using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Our results support the idea that especially fixed costs play an important role in explaining human capital underinvestment.
{"title":"Why do parents underinvest in their children’s education? Evidence from China","authors":"Jiyuan Wang , Rob Alessie , Viola Angelini","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102676","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102676","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this paper we study whether the presence of financial constraints that limit parents’ ability to borrow and the existence of educational fixed costs can explain the underinvestment of parents in their children’s human capital. We first incorporate these two potential mechanisms into the theoretical model of Raut and Tran (2005) and then we test their empirical relevance using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Our results support the idea that especially fixed costs play an important role in explaining human capital underinvestment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 102676"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144572361","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 : 2025-07-04DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102678
Sandip K. Agarwal , Souvik Dutta , Maharnab Naha
This study examines the impact of reducing language barriers on educational outcomes in the state of West Bengal, India. Specifically, we analyze the effects of a policy reform that introduced question papers in Hindi for all subjects in grades 11 and 12 higher secondary examinations, aimed at supporting students in schools with Hindi as the language of instruction. Using school-level administrative data, we employ a difference-in-differences estimation strategy to identify the causal effects of the intervention on grade repetition and grade enrollment. Our findings reveal that the policy led to a decline in the share of repeaters and an increase in enrollment. This finding bears significant policy implications, particularly in educational settings where there is a mismatch between the language of instruction and the language used for assessment.
{"title":"Impact of breaking the language barrier on school education — Evidence from West Bengal in India","authors":"Sandip K. Agarwal , Souvik Dutta , Maharnab Naha","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102678","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102678","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the impact of reducing language barriers on educational outcomes in the state of West Bengal, India. Specifically, we analyze the effects of a policy reform that introduced question papers in Hindi for all subjects in grades 11 and 12 higher secondary examinations, aimed at supporting students in schools with Hindi as the language of instruction. Using school-level administrative data, we employ a difference-in-differences estimation strategy to identify the causal effects of the intervention on grade repetition and grade enrollment. Our findings reveal that the policy led to a decline in the share of repeaters and an increase in enrollment. This finding bears significant policy implications, particularly in educational settings where there is a mismatch between the language of instruction and the language used for assessment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 102678"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144548651","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 : 2025-07-03DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102681
Rajeev Darolia , Chuanyi Guo , Youngran Kim
Currently, colleges and universities award over a million undergraduate certificates annually, accounting for about a quarter of undergraduate postsecondary credentials awarded each year in the United States. The fastest growing certificates are those that take less than a year to complete, with such awards growing about 60% over the past two decades and outpacing growth in any other type of undergraduate credentials. The precipitous growth in certificate awards, driven by prominent policy initiatives and student demand, has led to questions about the value of short-term postsecondary credentials. We examine the labor market returns to short and very short certificates, including those that require only a few credits to complete, using data from Kentucky that has among the highest awarding rates of such credentials. Though less expensive in terms of both direct and indirect costs, we find that rapid certificates (those that require 6 credits or fewer) have similar labor market returns to longer but still short-term certificates (7-15 or 16-36 credits) in the first few years after the certificate is earned. Rapid certificates yield the greatest immediate earnings and employment gains, though these benefits begin to fade out within a few quarters.
{"title":"The Labor Market Returns to Very Short-Term Rapid Postsecondary Certificates","authors":"Rajeev Darolia , Chuanyi Guo , Youngran Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102681","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102681","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Currently, colleges and universities award over a million undergraduate certificates annually, accounting for about a quarter of undergraduate postsecondary credentials awarded each year in the United States. The fastest growing certificates are those that take less than a year to complete, with such awards growing about 60% over the past two decades and outpacing growth in any other type of undergraduate credentials. The precipitous growth in certificate awards, driven by prominent policy initiatives and student demand, has led to questions about the value of short-term postsecondary credentials. We examine the labor market returns to short and very short certificates, including those that require only a few credits to complete, using data from Kentucky that has among the highest awarding rates of such credentials. Though less expensive in terms of both direct and indirect costs, we find that rapid certificates (those that require 6 credits or fewer) have similar labor market returns to longer but still short-term certificates (7-15 or 16-36 credits) in the first few years after the certificate is earned. Rapid certificates yield the greatest immediate earnings and employment gains, though these benefits begin to fade out within a few quarters.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 102681"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144534973","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 : 2025-06-26DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102674
Sabrina Auci , Manuela Coromaldi , Gianni De Fraja
This paper examines the effect on primary school pupils’ education attainment of their school’s conversion to “academy” status, a change in the schools’ governance regime which increased their managerial autonomy. We use a panel switching regression model where the conversion decision is instrumented with the attitude towards conversion of the stakeholders in the school’s administrative authority to account for the potential endogeneity of the conversion to academy status. We look beyond the average effect, and focus on the potential difference in effect for different children and different schools and as time passes. We find that conversion had at most limited effects on the pupils’ attainment in the short term. Any improved attainment fades away as time passes, and is weaker or absent for more able children, and for those in schools with fewer advantaged pupils.
{"title":"School autonomy and pupils’ performance: Academy conversion in English primary schools","authors":"Sabrina Auci , Manuela Coromaldi , Gianni De Fraja","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102674","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102674","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines the effect on primary school pupils’ education attainment of their school’s conversion to “academy” status, a change in the schools’ governance regime which increased their managerial autonomy. We use a panel switching regression model where the conversion decision is instrumented with the attitude towards conversion of the stakeholders in the school’s administrative authority to account for the potential endogeneity of the conversion to academy status. We look beyond the average effect, and focus on the potential difference in effect for different children and different schools and as time passes. We find that conversion had at most limited effects on the pupils’ attainment in the short term. Any improved attainment fades away as time passes, and is weaker or absent for more able children, and for those in schools with fewer advantaged pupils.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 102674"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144490453","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 : 2025-06-17DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102677
Joshua A. Price
This study evaluates an experiment conducted at a regional public university aimed at increasing college applications by reframing how tuition costs were presented to prospective students. High school seniors with a GPA of 3.0 or higher received letters outlining the application process and financial aid eligibility. A randomized subset received an enhanced version of the letter that emphasized the net cost of attending college—highlighting how the Pell Grant could significantly reduce tuition—rather than focusing on the full, list price. Results show that letters highlighting net costs increased application rates by 2.03 percentage points overall, with students most likely to qualify for the Pell Grant 4.08 percentage points more likely to apply. However, the intervention did not significantly influence enrollment decisions or FAFSA completion rates. These findings underscore both the promise and limitations of low-cost, information-based outreach efforts. While salient cost framing can shift application behavior, additional support may be needed to convert interest into enrollment—particularly at broad-access institutions serving economically diverse populations.
{"title":"How cost framing affects college applications: evidence from a targeted information intervention","authors":"Joshua A. Price","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102677","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102677","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study evaluates an experiment conducted at a regional public university aimed at increasing college applications by reframing how tuition costs were presented to prospective students. High school seniors with a GPA of 3.0 or higher received letters outlining the application process and financial aid eligibility. A randomized subset received an enhanced version of the letter that emphasized the net cost of attending college—highlighting how the Pell Grant could significantly reduce tuition—rather than focusing on the full, list price. Results show that letters highlighting net costs increased application rates by 2.03 percentage points overall, with students most likely to qualify for the Pell Grant 4.08 percentage points more likely to apply. However, the intervention did not significantly influence enrollment decisions or FAFSA completion rates. These findings underscore both the promise and limitations of low-cost, information-based outreach efforts. While salient cost framing can shift application behavior, additional support may be needed to convert interest into enrollment—particularly at broad-access institutions serving economically diverse populations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 102677"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144298046","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 : 2025-06-14DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102675
Christopher Jepsen , Peter Mueser , Kenneth Troske , Kyung-Seong Jeon
We estimate labor-market returns for students pursuing certificates or associate’s degrees in eight broad fields of study at for-profit institutions and community colleges. The data contain 400,000 students beginning their studies between 2005 and 2012 in one state. We estimate two-step models to address recent econometric concerns with two-way fixed-effects models. Our analyses show important differences in return by field, with similar patterns for for-profit schools and community colleges. Apart from those studying in health fields, returns are generally greater for those attending for-profit schools than those attending community colleges. Higher estimated overall returns for for-profit schools are not primarily due to differences in areas of study.
{"title":"Estimates of earnings returns by field of study for-profit schools and community colleges","authors":"Christopher Jepsen , Peter Mueser , Kenneth Troske , Kyung-Seong Jeon","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102675","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102675","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We estimate labor-market returns for students pursuing certificates or associate’s degrees in eight broad fields of study at for-profit institutions and community colleges. The data contain 400,000 students beginning their studies between 2005 and 2012 in one state. We estimate two-step models to address recent econometric concerns with two-way fixed-effects models. Our analyses show important differences in return by field, with similar patterns for for-profit schools and community colleges. Apart from those studying in health fields, returns are generally greater for those attending for-profit schools than those attending community colleges. Higher estimated overall returns for for-profit schools are not primarily due to differences in areas of study.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 102675"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144280369","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 : 2025-06-10DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102659
Arnim Seidlitz , Larissa Zierow
This paper investigates the effects of voluntary all-day programs in German primary schools on student outcomes. To address selection bias, we use federal construction subsidies as an instrument for all-day school expansion. The program significantly increased all-day school attendance. However, second-stage results are mixed and suffer from statistical imprecision. While no significant effects are found on test scores or math grades, there are positive impacts on German grades and academic track attendance after primary school. Results indicate that all-day programs improve student satisfaction and reduce bullying; yet, we find no evidence of a reduction in educational inequality.
{"title":"Longer days, better performance? The impact of all-day primary schools in Germany","authors":"Arnim Seidlitz , Larissa Zierow","doi":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102659","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102659","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper investigates the effects of voluntary all-day programs in German primary schools on student outcomes. To address selection bias, we use federal construction subsidies as an instrument for all-day school expansion. The program significantly increased all-day school attendance. However, second-stage results are mixed and suffer from statistical imprecision. While no significant effects are found on test scores or math grades, there are positive impacts on German grades and academic track attendance after primary school. Results indicate that all-day programs improve student satisfaction and reduce bullying; yet, we find no evidence of a reduction in educational inequality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48261,"journal":{"name":"Economics of Education Review","volume":"107 ","pages":"Article 102659"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144255100","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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