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on Education |
| By: | Chiara Cavaglia; Lindsey Macmillan; Konstantina Maragkou; Richard Murphy; Gill Wyness |
| Abstract: | We disentangle the relationship between student ability, course quality and the match between the two on earnings, estimating the first mismatch parameter in the literature. Using administrative data on all state-educated students in England linked to tax records, we show that high ability students attending low quality courses earn significantly less than their well-matched counterparts. By contrast, we find no evidence that lower ability students that overmatch to high quality courses go on to earn any less than well-matched students. This is evidence that affirmative action does not appear to have a detrimental effect on students' future earnings. |
| Keywords: | mismatch, higher education, further education, returns |
| Date: | 2024–11–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cverdp:041 |
| By: | Salman Asim; Stefan Dercon; Ravinder Gera Casley; Donna Harris |
| Abstract: | Evidence from high-income countries suggests that the quality of school leadership has measurable impacts on teacher behaviors and student learning achievement. However, there is a lack of rigorous evidence in low-income contexts, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study tests the impact on student progression and test scores of a two-year, multi-phase intervention to strengthen leadership skills for head teachers, deputy head teachers, and sub-district education officials. The intervention consists of two phases of classroom training along with follow-up visits, implemented over two years. It focuses on skills related to making more efficient use of resources; motivating and incentivizing teachers to improve performance; and curating a culture in which students and teachers are all motivated to strengthen learning. A randomized controlled trial was conducted in 1, 198 schools in all districts of Malawi, providing evidence of the impact of the intervention at scale. The findings show that the intervention improved student test scores by 0.1 standard deviations, equivalent to around eight weeks of additional learning, as well as improving progression rates. The outcomes were achieved primarily as a result of improvements in the provision of remedial classes. |
| Keywords: | Education Quality; Primary School; Education Policy; Field Experiment |
| JEL: | I21 I28 C93 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csa:wpaper:2024-05 |
| By: | Bortolotti, Stefania (University of Bologna); Loviglio, Annalisa (University of Bologna) |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of a personalized mentoring program on university enrollment choices and academic outcomes. Conducting a randomized controlled trial among 337 high school students, we find that the program significantly influences students' decisions. The likelihood of choosing a field aligned with their mentor increases by 14 to 22 percentage points, depending on the sample and specification, representing a 25% to 45% increase from the baseline. Notably, the program also shifts preferences towards STEM/Economics fields, potentially enhancing prospective wages by 3.1- 3.7%. Using administrative data, we confirm the validity of survey-based evidence and show that the intervention does not negatively impact university performance, even though treated students enroll in more competitive fields. |
| Keywords: | mentoring, university choices, RCT |
| JEL: | C93 I23 I26 |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17417 |
| By: | Arold, Benjamin W. (University of Cambridge); Woessmann, Ludger (University of Munich, ifo Institute; Hoover Institution, Stanford University; CESifo, IZA); Zierow, Larissa (Reutlingen University, CESifo) |
| Abstract: | We study whether compulsory religious education in schools affects students’ religiosity as adults. We exploit the staggered termination of compulsory religious education across German states in models with state and cohort fixed effects. Using three different datasets, we find that abolishing compulsory religious education significantly reduced religiosity of affected students in adulthood. It also reduced the religious actions of personal prayer, church-going, and church membership. Beyond religious attitudes, the reform led to higher labor-market participation and earnings. The reform did not affect ethical and political values or non-religious school outcomes. |
| Keywords: | religious education, religiosity, school reforms JEL Classification: Z12, I28, H75 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:732 |
| By: | Lisa Barrow; Sarah Komisarow; Lauren Sartain |
| Abstract: | School districts across the US have adopted funding policies designed to distribute resources more equitably across schools. Concurrently, schools are increasing external fundraising efforts to supplement district budget allocations. We document both funding policies and fundraising efforts in Chicago Public Schools. We find that adoption of a weighted-student funding policy reallocated more dollars to schools with high shares of students eligible for free/reduced-price lunch, creating a policy-induced per-pupil expenditure gap. Further, almost all schools raised external funds over the study period, with most dollars raised concentrated in schools serving relatively affluent populations. We estimate that external fundraising offset the policy-induced per-pupil expenditure gap between schools enrolling the lowest and highest shares of FRL-eligible students by 23-35 percent. |
| Keywords: | education finance; public school; school funding; non-profits; fundraising; equity |
| JEL: | I22 I28 H75 |
| Date: | 2024–11–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedcwq:99061 |
| By: | Wozniak, Abigail (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis); Baker, Michael T. (U.S. Military Academy, West Point); Carter, Susan P. (U.S. Military Academy, West Point) |
| Abstract: | A large literature links marriage to later life outcomes for children and adults. Marriage has declined markedly in the U.S. over the last 50 years, particularly among individuals with less than a baccalaureate degree, yet the causes of the decline are not well understood. In this paper we provide causal evidence on one potential mechanism for the observed marriage rate patterns: peer effects. We use administrative personnel data from the U.S. Army to study how peers influence marriage decisions for junior enlisted soldiers arriving to their first assignment from 2001-2018, a setting which features substantial variation in peer group marriage rates and conditional random assignment to peer groups. We find that exposure to the 75th versus 25th percentile of our identifying variation in peer marriage rates increases the likelihood that an unmarried individual marries within two years of assignment by 1.9 percent. We show that lateral peers and near supervisors alike influence marriage decisions and we argue that our results are most consistent with conformist behavior, where peers influence marriage decisions through role-modeling and group social norms. The effect of peers is larger for men, and for Black and Hispanic men, in particular. While the effect of peers attenuates after 36 months for white and Hispanic men, effects persist and continue to grow over time for Black men, suggesting that our results are not fully explained by re-timing. We benchmark our estimates against previous research and argue that the effect of peers on individual marriage decisions is economically meaningful. |
| Keywords: | marriage formation, marriage, peer effects |
| JEL: | J12 J11 J13 D1 D91 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17443 |