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on Education |
| By: | Jan Bietenbeck; Matthew Collins; Petter Lundborg; Kaveh Majlesi |
| Abstract: | We estimate the effects of exposure to income and wealth inequality during adolescence on long-term educational and labor market outcomes. Using detailed Swedish register data covering all students completing compulsory education between 1989 and 2013, we construct measures of inequality among students’ school-cohort peers and exploit variation between cohorts within schools to identify plausibly causal effects. We find no evidence that exposure to inequality affects GPA, high school graduation, university enrollment, university completion, or income up to age 35. These null results are precisely estimated and robust to alternative measures of inequality, sample definitions, and specifications. Moreover, we find no evidence of systematic heterogeneity by socioeconomic background. Taken together, these findings provide reassurance that school integration policies mixing students from different socioeconomic backgrounds do not carry hidden long-run costs stemming from exposure to inequality. More broadly, they challenge the view that school-based exposure to peer inequality during adolescence is a causal driver of human capital accumulation or later-life mobility. |
| Keywords: | inequality, education, peer effects |
| JEL: | I21 I24 J62 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12295 |
| By: | Giorgia Casalone; Alessandra Michelangeli; Jurgena Myftiu |
| Abstract: | This study examines the causal impact of additional financial aid granted to students living far from university on their academic performance. It exploits an Italian policy that supports the relocation of scholarship recipients to the university city. Using a fuzzy regression discontinuity design based on a travel-time eligibility threshold, we compare the academic outcomes of scholarship holders enrolled at a medium-sized public university. Results indicate that relocated students accumulate credits more slowly and achieve lower average grades than comparable commuters, with no evidence that relocated students trade exam quality for quantity. A mediation analysis suggests that these effects may be driven by time-management difficulties and the limited adequacy of the financial support to cover living expenses. By focusing on an overlooked dimension of student aid, the paper contributes to the understanding of how financial support mechanisms interact with students’ living arrangements and provides novel causal evidence on the interplay between financial aid and students’ living arrangements in higher education. |
| Keywords: | Scholarships, Higher education, Academic performance, Living arrangements, Regression Discontinuity. |
| JEL: | H2 H4 I2 C3 |
| Date: | 2025–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mib:wpaper:563 |
| By: | Kengo IGEI; Makiko NAKAMURO; Tomoya MURAKAWA; Quang Chien LE |
| Abstract: | This study estimates the causal impact of deploying part-time subject-specialist teachers in elementary schools on students’ academic outcomes, drawing on a cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. In schools randomly assigned to receive part-time science specialists, students’ science achievement increased by 0.153–0.162 standard deviations (SD), which is a relatively large effect compared to many other educational interventions such as class size reduction. Moreover, mathematics achievement improved by 0.101–0.108 SD, while Japanese language achievement remained unaffected. In contrast, the deployment of part-time mathematics specialists had no statistically significant effect on student performance. There is no evidence that the introduction of part-time subject-specialists altered teachers’ classroom preparation time for other subjects. Science is a subject that demands a high level of content expertise, and prior studies indicate that as teachers gain more experience, their anxiety in teaching science decreases, while their self-efficacy increases. Given that the assigned specialists were relatively older and experienced part-time teachers, the results suggest that leveraging their expertise and confidence may have contributed to the observed academic gains. The findings highlight the potential of strategically utilizing experienced specialist teachers to improve science education in the upper grades of elementary school. |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:25111 |
| By: | Sofoklis Goulas; Rigissa Megalokonomou; Tommaso Sartori |
| Abstract: | Teachers play a central role in shaping how students benefit from peers, yet little is known about how classroom composition affects their attention-allocation decisions. We conduct a large-scale randomized experiment using realistic class- room vignettes to assess how teachers engage with students under varying scenarios and objectives. The presence of a high achiever reduces the likelihood that teachers engage with a low achiever by about 8%, with substantially larger effects when teachers prioritize task success, consistent with convenience-based decision-making. Using administrative data, we show that low achievers per- form worse when quasi-randomly assigned to a classroom with an exceptional student. |
| Keywords: | teacher behavior, attention allocation, randomized controlled trial, educational inequality, peer effects |
| JEL: | I21 I28 C93 D91 J24 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12301 |