Secondary school subject choices play a crucial role in shaping enrolment in science and maths in higher education and are influenced by academic, social, and institutional factors. Using data from the Growing Up in Ireland study, we document substantial socioeconomic gaps in enrolment in science and maths and show that choices made by age 13 strongly predict later participation. Applying SHAP (Shapley Additive exPlanations) based decompositions, we find that these gaps are largely predicted by differences in ability already evident at age nine. Our findings highlight early numeracy and lower-secondary choices as key margins in science-and-maths inequality.
This paper examines the extent and implications of between-school heterogeneity in foundational learning outcomes across six public education systems in South Asia and West Africa, using harmonized, system-representative data from systems collectively serving more than 900,000 enrolled children. We document substantial and pedagogically meaningful variation that tends to increase with grade level and baseline performance, and is therefore often most pronounced in upper primary grades, while also often exceeding variation explained by common subnational proxies such as administrative region and rural-urban status. In the vast majority of cases, the between-school component exceeds what would be expected from random chance due to sampling variation, often by statistically significant margins. These findings suggest that, in the presence of meaningful between-school heterogeneity, setting a single instructional level for an entire system may remain a consequential policy challenge even when overall curricula are brought closer to the level of the median child. Simulations further suggest that in systems with greater school-level heterogeneity, differentiated instructional targeting can increase the share of students whose proficiency is aligned with the assigned instructional level, relative to a uniform curriculum. Whether these alignment gains translate into realized learning gains depends on the quality of school-level data and the feasibility of implementing differentiated instruction in practice.
The Right to Education Act (2009) changed the norms on pupil-teacher ratios for Indian primary schools. We decompose the compliance of districts with these requirements into the number of teachers available (Ability to comply), and the effort to re-organize teachers to improve compliance (Effort to comply). The Act created a discontinuous jump in the latter, leading to improved teacher allocation. We show that this improvement was associated with learning gains across districts and cohorts, especially at the lowest levels of attainment. The findings are indicative of diminishing returns to additional teachers in the context of small schools and multi-grade teaching.
We examine the effects of maternal exposure to the Taliban rule (1996-2001) on children's education in Afghanistan. We exploit two sources of variation: geographic variation in the control of provinces by the Taliban, and the age of women during that time. Using the 2015 Afghanistan Demographic and Health Survey, we find that 15 years after the regime, children of mothers who were in their primary schooling years during the Taliban had 20% lower school attendance and 14% fewer years of schooling. The primary driver is the Taliban's ban on women's education, which curtailed mothers' schooling.
We study the effects of precedence order (i.e. the order in which different types of seats are filled) on college admission under the Texas Top 10% Law, which requires automatic admission for any student who graduated in the top 10% from a Texas high school. Policymakers currently fill reserved seats for top 10% students first, then fill unreserved seats. Using publicly available data, we show that the reserve policy with the current precedence order is equivalent to admission without reserves. We show that switching the precedence order to fill unreserved seats first increases the admission rates for top 10% students and for Black and Hispanic students. By filling unreserved seats before reserved seats, policymakers could increase the representation of racial/ethnic minorities at highly selective colleges.
Overqualification (defined as a situation in which workers' formal credentials exceed job requirements) has become increasingly salient in Ecuador, especially among young workers. Using ENEMDU microdata for 5,150 employed young tertiary-educated workers, this paper estimates a logit model with an objective occupation-based mismatch measure. Average marginal effects indicate that women are 6.3 percentage points more likely to be overqualified than men. Relative to technical and technological tertiary graduates, university graduates show a 10.3 percentage-point higher probability of overqualification. Informality and microenterprise employment are also strongly associated with mismatch. Sectoral results reveal lower overqualification in education, professional activities, and health.
We analyze the role of cognitive and non-cognitive skills in sorting workers into high-quality training firms and in determining early-career earnings. Using linked student-employer-employee data from Germany (NEPS-ADIAB), we find that adolescents with stronger skills are sorted into more productive, higher-paying firms. To address endogeneity, we exploit local variation in teachers' science competency as an instrument for students' mathematics skills. We find sizable causal wage returns to mathematics early in workers' careers. We also provide evidence of complementarity between social and cognitive skills: returns to mathematics are higher for individuals with stronger interpersonal skills.
This paper investigates the efficiency of Italian universities, comparing public, private, and online institutions over the period 2015-2022. It provides the first analysis of online university efficiency in Italy. Using a Generalised True Random Effects stochastic frontier model, we disentangle persistent and transient inefficiencies while accounting for unobserved heterogeneity. Results reveal significant differences across university types, especially when research output is included in the production function. Online universities, despite their rapid growth, exhibit lower efficiency due to limited research activity. Our findings suggest that institutional missions and structural configurations shape performance, and that efficiency assessments should reflect universities' multiple goals.
We examine the causal impact of university financial health on prospective student interest using Yeshiva University as a case study. To address endogeneity, we exploit an exogenous shock: the 2008 revelation that Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme caused Yeshiva over $100 million in endowment losses. Following the scandal, Yeshiva experienced a sharp decline in applications relative to peer institutions, along with reduced first-year enrollment and tuition revenue. These effects are not explained by changes in campus expenditures or amenities, but are consistent with a negative reputational shock. The findings indicate that prospective students respond to signals of financial distress, underscoring the role of perceived financial stability in college choice..
We examine how school-level factors - test performance, peer characteristics, exclusionary practices, and non-compliance behaviors - predict incarceration rates. Using administrative records from 50% of all Hungarian eighth graders in 2008, we track incarceration outcomes through the age of 23-24. Rare-event regression models identify strong predictors: boys in low-status, poorly performing schools face a 1.0% incarceration risk compared to a 0.5% risk at low-status, but well-performing schools. The risk increases to 8.1% for absentees in segregated schools with high grade repetition. While these factors may not directly cause delinquency, they highlight key risk indicators that could inform pedagogical and crime prevention interventions.
This study uses American Community Survey data (2017-2022) to examine whether the educational composition of professional environments is associated with spouse selection. We find a significant positive association between the average education level of opposite-sex coworkers in an individual's occupation and industry and the educational attainment of the individual's spouse. This association is stronger for women and is substantially larger when spouses share the same occupation or industry. The findings show that workplace environments may contribute to educational homogamy and, in turn, to socioeconomic sorting.
This paper assesses the impact of a remedial education program on academic performance. The program utilizes a direct instruction method to review and reinforce the curriculum content over a school year. The program targeted 5th-grade students in Brazil in 2019. We used the synthetic control method to evaluate the program. In 2019, there was a positive impact of 0.44 sigma in mathematics and 0.30 sigma in language test scores. Positive impacts extended to both the low - and high-achievers. In 2021 the program was discontinued due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a reversion in student performance to pre-2019 levels in both subjects.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a rapid acceleration of standardized-test-optional college admissions policies. Using an event study design, we compare admissions outcomes between American colleges ranked among the top 100 national universities that dropped testing requirements to those that maintained required testing. While the share of enrollees who were White did not change, increases of 1.1 percentage points each for enrolled Black and Hispanic students (95% CI: 0.003-0.019, p = 0.011; and 95% CI: -0.001-0.024, p = 0.08, respectively) and decreases of 1.5 percentage points for Asian students (95% CI: -0.029 to -0.0009, p = 0.04) were measured in the second year.
Teachers are among the most influential school-level factors in student learning, motivating the use of incentive pay programs to enhance teacher quality and effectiveness. However, little research examines the consequences of discontinuing such programs. This study evaluates the effects of both implementing and terminating teacher incentive pay on student academic achievement. Fixed effects and difference-in-differences models show positive impacts on overall performance, particularly in mathematics, with larger gains for minority students. Importantly, discontinuing incentive pay did not negatively affect academic outcomes. These findings provide new insights into the full lifecycle of teacher incentive policies and their implications for educational equity.
Studies show that women have less financial knowledge than men. To address this gap, several targeted programs have been implemented, but their effectiveness remains largely unknown. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of Women Matter, a financial education program provided by Banca d'Italia to reduce the gender gap in financial literacy. We use data from the pilot edition, conducted between May 2022 and April 2023, aimed at female employees. The sample includes about 200 workers, both participants and non-participants, with similar characteristics. Results show that attending the program significantly increases participants' financial competence, boosting scores by about 30 per cent from their initial level. The program is especially effective for younger women and those less familiar with financial tools. Additionally, the teacher's financial literacy level directly impacts the program's success.
Vietnam’s strong performance on the 2012 and 2015 PISA assessments has led to interest in what explains the strong academic performance of Vietnamese students. Analysis of the PISA data has not shed much light on this issue. This paper analyses a much richer data set, the Young Lives data for Ethiopia, India (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana), Peru and Vietnam, to investigate the reasons for the strong academic performance of 15-year-olds in Vietnam. Differences in observed child and household characteristics explain 37-39% of the gap between Vietnam and Ethiopia, while observed school variables explain only about 3-4 additional percentage points (although an important variable, math teachers’ pedagogical skills, is not available for Ethiopia). Differences in observed child and household characteristics explain very little of the gaps between Vietnam and India and between Vietnam and Peru, yet one observed school variable has a large explanatory effect: primary school math teachers’ pedagogical skills. It explains about 10-12% of the gap between Vietnam and India, raising the overall explained portion to 14-21% of the gap. For Peru, it explains most (65-84%) of the gap.
In a field experiment with 309 students, I elicit study goals and plans and use these to construct individualized pacesetters (rabbits). Pacesetters are moving reference points that visualize the preferred study pace of the present self by moving according to the initial plan. I develop a platform to measure study time and to display the pacesetters. Falling behind the pacesetter confronts students with their procrastination. I find that students have more ambitious goals when they set a pacesetter, but fall behind and are less likely to reach their goals. The pacesetter has no impact on study time and learning outcomes.
This research explores the impact of education on individuals' involvement with financial assets such as savings, annuities/IRAs, and stocks in the United States. Utilizing panel data and various identification strategies, the findings indicate that education is associated with greater investment in these assets, particularly among those with college and postgraduate degrees. The paper examines how higher incomes resulting from better education, improved financial behaviors, and an increased willingness to take risks contribute to these outcomes. This research provides insights into the relationship between education and financial management, highlighting potential avenues for enabling broader participation in asset accumulation.
