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on Education |
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Issue of 2026–01–12
twenty papers chosen by João Carlos Correia Leitão, Universidade da Beira Interior |
| By: | Pietro Biroli; Amalia Di Girolamo; Giuseppe Sorrenti; Maddalena Totarelli |
| Abstract: | Educational disparities often limit students' access to relatable role models, constraining their aspirations and educational outcomes. We design and implement the Online Role Model Mentoring Program (ORME), a scalable, low-cost intervention connecting middle school students with successful role models from similar backgrounds. Using a randomized controlled trial with over 450 students in Campania, Italy, we find that ORME improves students' beliefs about the returns to effort, increases alignment between aspirations and expectations, and boosts school effort. Treated students also become more academically ambitious: they are more likely to enroll in academically oriented tracks and perform better on standardized language tests. These findings show that brief online mentoring sessions can have a meaningful impact on students’ attitudes and choices at a critical stage of schooling, highlighting a promising tool to support students in low-opportunity contexts. |
| Keywords: | role models, aspirations, mentoring, school interventions |
| JEL: | I21 I24 J24 D91 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12342 |
| By: | Anaya Dam; Guthrie Gray-Lobe; Michael Kremer; Joost de Laat; Karlijn Morsink |
| Abstract: | This study sequentially evaluates a soft-skills course implemented in Ugandan and Kenyan primary schools that replaced academic review time with lessons on goal-setting and related skills as students prepared for high-stakes primary school-leaving exams. An exploratory evaluation in Uganda provided evidence of positive impacts on girls’ test scores. A confirmatory evaluation in Kenya found that the course led to improvements in self-reported soft skills, especially among girls, although no gains in test scores. The study illustrates the utility of sequential evaluation, with exploratory analysis to identify promising hypotheses, followed by out-of-sample testing, as a tool to uncover heterogeneous effects. |
| JEL: | C18 C93 D91 I20 I21 I24 I25 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34562 |
| By: | Barbara Biasi; Minseon Park; John D. Singleton; Seth D. Zimmerman |
| Abstract: | School boards have statutory authority over most elementary and secondary education policies, but receive little attention compared to other actors in education systems. A fundamental challenge to understanding the importance of boards is the absence of data on the policy goals of board members—i.e., their ideologies—forcing researchers to conduct tests based on demographic and professional characteristics—i.e., identities—with which ideology is presumed to correlate. This paper uses new data on the viewpoints and policy actions of school board members, coupled with a regression discontinuity design that generates quasi-random variation in board composition, to establish two results. The first is that the priorities of board members have large causal effects across many domains. For example, the effect of electing an equity-focused board member on test scores for low-income students is roughly equivalent to assigning every such student a teacher who is 0.3 to 0.4 SDs higher in the distribution of teacher value-added. The second is that observing policy priorities is crucial. Identity turns out to be a poor proxy for ideology, with limited governance effects that are fully explained by differences in policy priorities. Our findings challenge the belief that school boards are unimportant, showing that who serves on the board and what they prioritize can have far-reaching consequences for students. |
| JEL: | H75 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34590 |
| By: | Samuel Berlinski; Guillermo Cruces; Sebastian Galiani; Paul Gertler; Fabian Gonzalez |
| Abstract: | We study the long-run effects of a large public expansion of pre-primary education in Argentina. Between 1993 and 1999 the federal government financed the construction of new preschool classrooms targeted to departments with low base- line enrollment and high poverty, creating roughly 186, 000 additional places. We link administrative records on classroom construction to four population censuses and estimate difference-in-differences models that compare treated and untreated cohorts across high- and low-construction departments. An additional preschool seat per child increases post-kindergarten schooling by about 0.5 years, raising the probability of completing secondary school by 11.9 percentage points and of enrolling in post-secondary education by 7.1 percentage points. For women, access to the program also reduces completed fertility: an additional seat lowers the number of live births per woman by 0.18, and we find no evidence that selective migration biases these estimates. We find little impact on labor-market outcomes at the census date, consistent with beneficiaries still being in school or in the early stages of their careers. A benefit-cost analysis based on the estimated schooling gains, standard Mincer returns, and observed construction and operating costs yields a benefit-cost ratio of about 11 and an internal rate of return of 13%. Our findings show that universal at-scale pre-primary expansions in middle-income countries can generate sizable improvements in human capital and demographic outcomes at relatively low fiscal cost. |
| JEL: | J13 J16 J38 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34552 |
| By: | Cunningham, Scott (Baylor University); Di Tommaso, Maria Laura (University of Torino); Melo, António (University of Turin); Mendolia, Silvia (University of Turin); Savio, Giulia (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | Bullying is a widespread form of aggression that emerges early in childhood and is common in school settings. Using Italian data from the National Institute for the Evaluation of Education and Training (INVALSI) on primary school students, we document gender differences in self-reported bullying, both as victims and perpetrators, across multiple dimensions. Bullying is more prevalent among boys on both fronts. Exploiting the quasi-random allocation of students to classes within schools, we show that a higher share of boys increases reported victimization among girls, particularly in forms such as mockery and verbal insults. These effects are associated with lower well-being among girls. The findings point to a spillover of violence from boys to girls as the share of male peers increases, highlighting the role of classroom gender composition in shaping early peer interactions and the need for caution when managing gender imbalances in elementary education. |
| Keywords: | violence, bullying, education, gender differences, primary school |
| JEL: | I24 J13 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18332 |
| By: | Fischer, Mira (WZB - Social Science Research Center Berlin); Rau, Holger A. (University of Göttingen); Rilke, Rainer Michael (WHU Vallendar) |
| Abstract: | We study how AI tutoring affects learning in higher education through a randomized experiment with 334 university students preparing for an incentivized exam. Students either received only textbook material, restricted access to an AI tutor requiring initial independent reading, or unrestricted access throughout the study period. AI tutor access raises test performance by 0.23 standard deviations relative to control. Surprisingly, unrestricted access significantly outperforms restricted access by 0.21 standard deviations, contradicting concerns about premature AI reliance. Behavioral analysis reveals that unrestricted access fosters gradual integration of AI support, while restricted access induces intensive bursts of prompting that disrupt learning flow. Benefits are heterogeneous: AI tutors prove most effective for students with lower baseline knowledge and stronger self-regulation skills, suggesting that seamless AI integration enhances learning when students can strategically combine independent study with targeted support. |
| Keywords: | self-regulated learning, large language models, AI tutors, higher education |
| JEL: | C91 I21 D83 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18338 |
| By: | Antman, Francisca M. (University of Colorado, Boulder); Skoy, Evelyn (Hamilton College); Kim, Paul (University of Colorado, Boulder) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of international students on the academic outcomes of domestic peers in introductory economics courses. We address the potential endogeneity of class selection by focusing on first-year students enrolling in a large public flagship university, for whom class assignment is likely to be quasi-random, conditional on a rich set of control variables for the class and individual. Results suggest an increased share of international student peers reduces the likelihood of majoring in economics for domestic White and Asian men while increasing the likelihood of majoring in economics for domestic men from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. There is also evidence that higher shares of international student peers increase the likelihood that domestic White and Asian men major in business and decrease the likelihood that some men drop out of college. Additional analyses point to introductory course grades as possible mechanisms to explain these results, as a higher international peer share is associated with higher domestic student grades. Results for men enrolled in large introductory economics classes are similar to the main results for men overall and are also similar for women. |
| Keywords: | race/ethnicity, college dropout, college major, immigration, higher education, peer effects, gender, international, foreign |
| JEL: | I23 J15 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18341 |
| By: | Christopher Campos; Jesse Bruhn; Eric Chyn; Antonia Vazquez |
| Abstract: | Public school choice has evolved rapidly in the past two decades, as districts roll out new magnet, dual-language, and themed programs to broaden educational opportunity. We use newly collected national data to document that opt-in (voluntary) systems: (i) are the modal design; (ii) are harder to navigate; and (iii) have participation that is concentrated among more advantaged students. These facts suggest a striking inconsistency: districts have largely adopted centralized assignment algorithms to broaden access, but most rely on optional participation that fragments public education. We study the implications of this design choice in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the largest opt-in system in the country, combining nearly two decades of administrative data, randomized lotteries, and quasi-experimental expansions in access. Participation is highly selective, consistent with national evidence, and lottery estimates suggest that the students with the lowest demand for choice schools are the ones who gain the most from attending. Opt-in participation therefore embeds a selection mechanism that screens out high-return students and leaves many effective programs with unused capacity. To evaluate system-level implications, we estimate a structural model linking applications, enrollment, and achievement. Choice schools are vertically differentiated and generate meaningful gains, but the opt-in participation rule—through high application costs and negative selection on gains—prevents these benefits from reaching the students who need them most. Counterfactual simulations make the design stakes clear: information and travel-cost reductions have limited effects, whereas reforms that change the participation architecture eliminate core inefficiencies and deliver the largest district-wide achievement gains. These results underscore that system design— not school effectiveness alone—shapes who benefits from public school choice and to what extent. |
| JEL: | I0 I20 I24 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34581 |
| By: | Ozdogan, Selen (CUNY Graduate Center); Shih, Kevin Y. (University of California, Riverside) |
| Abstract: | Since 2022, New York City has received more than 200, 000 asylum-seekers from the southern border, many of whom were young children. Families were placed in homeless shelters, with children subsequently enrolled in nearby public elementary schools. Exploiting variation in homeless shelter capacity across school zones, we show that exposed schools saw increases in migrant students, proxied by English Language Learners, Hispanic students, and students in temporary housing. Despite these shifts, domestic students did not experience adverse impacts on enrollment, test scores, attendance, or chronic absenteeism. Progressive funding helped buffer schools against resource crowding, expanding English language instruction to accommodate newcomers. |
| Keywords: | asylum-seekers, education, immigration |
| JEL: | I22 I29 J60 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18339 |
| By: | Inoue, Atsushi (Nippon Institute for Research Advancement); Tanaka, Ryuichi (University of Tokyo) |
| Abstract: | This study investigated the effects of bullying victimization on cognitive, school engagement, and friendship outcomes using panel data collected from elementary school students in a Japanese city. Employing a value-added model that controls for prior outcomes, our findings revealed that bullying victimization significantly impairs both cognitive and school engagement and weakens friendship formation. Furthermore, a high prevalence of bullying victimization within the classroom was found to negatively impact cognitive outcomes in subsequent years. These findings underscore the importance of effective school bullying prevention in fostering human and social capital among school-aged children. |
| Keywords: | school engagement, academic performance, school bullying, friendship, Japan |
| JEL: | I21 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18318 |
| By: | Borgonovi, Francesca (OECD); Checchi, Daniele (University of Milan); Gualtieri, Valentina (INAPP – Institute for Public Policy Analysis) |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates labour-market returns to formal and informal human capital in Italy using data from the first cycle of PIAAC. We distinguish formal inputs (years of schooling) from directly assessed skills (literacy and numeracy) which we interpret as distinct forms of human capital that are shaped by school quality and by non-formal and informal learning. To address non-random employment and joint endogeneity of schooling and skills, we combine a Heckman selection model with instrumental variables. Schooling is instrumented using cohort exposure to the 1971 introduction of full-day primary schooling and the 1999–2001 Bologna ‘3+2’ university reform; skills are instrumented using gender- and cohort-specific municipal illiteracy rates from population censuses, matched by birthplace. Results show that ignoring selection and endogeneity overstates the returns to schooling. After correction, numeracy yields the main wage premium, while formal credentials contribute little once skills are accounted for. The findings highlight the role of early cultural environments and skill accumulation for Italian wage inequality in Italy. |
| Keywords: | credentials, schooling, skill, Italy |
| JEL: | J24 I26 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18355 |
| By: | Jose Maria Cabrera; Alejandro Cid |
| Abstract: | Individuals are influenced by both their absolute performance and their performance relative to others. For example, workers’ satisfaction is affected not only by their nominal wage but also by how their salaries compare to those of their colleagues. We apply these ideas in the context of education. We analyze the effect of delivering relative performance feedback in a field experiment involving more than a thousand university students. We first find that untreated students tend to misperceive their standing in the grade distribution, with underperforming students often overstating their ranking and high-achieving students, particularly women, understating their performance. We experimentally provided treated students with information about their exact performance relative to peers.We find asymmetric effects of information feedback on men and women.Treated men reported increased satisfaction with their GPA, while treated women reported reduced satisfaction, regardless of their position in the grade distribution. Additionally, the non-monetary incentive caused a decline in women’s academic performance after one and two years. Two potential explanatory channels could account for these findings: women may exhibit a tendency to shy away from competition, and they might face an increasing marginal cost of effort. This paper highlights the nuanced impact of information feedback, showing that more information is not always universally beneficial. |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mnt:wpaper:2408 |
| By: | Tinna Laufey Ásgeirsdottir; Marco Francesconi; Ásthildur M. Johannsdottir; Gylfi Zoega |
| Abstract: | Leveraging administrative data from the University of Iceland, which cover more than 60% of the undergraduate population in the country, we examine how home exams and peer networks shape grades around the COVID-19 crisis. Using difference-in-difference models with a rich set of fixed effects, we find that home exams taken during university closures raised grades by about 0.5 points (approximately 7%) relative to invigilated in-person exams outside the pandemic period. Access to a larger share of high-school peers leads to an average grade increase of up to two-fifths of a point, and exposure to higher-quality peers yielded additional, but smaller gains. Interactions between peer-network measures and the COVID/home-exam indicators are near zero, providing no evidence that peer networks amplified home-exam gains during the pandemic. |
| Keywords: | academic performance, online education, COVID-19, networks, academic dishonesty, Iceland |
| JEL: | I21 I23 J24 D85 J16 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12367 |
| By: | Hu, Shengrong (Iowa State University); Winters, John V. (Iowa State University) |
| Abstract: | The Optional Practical Training (OPT) program now provides up to 36 months of employment authorization for foreign students completing college degrees in the U.S. in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Econometrics and Quantitative Economics (EQE) was added as a STEM field in 2012, triggering an explosion of EQE programs and degrees conferred, but some of this growth involved displacement from other economics programs. We document the growth of EQE and examine effects of OPT and EQE program creation on overall economics bachelor’s degrees conferred to international students. We find positive effects on international economics degrees with effects that appear larger at public colleges and universities than private ones. We also examine effects on domestic students and find more mixed results. Our results suggest that EQE program creation on average benefits foreign students and higher education institutions. |
| Keywords: | economics, college education, immigration policy, STEM |
| JEL: | A22 I23 J24 J61 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18336 |
| By: | Ásgeirsdottir, Tinna Laufey (University of Iceland); Francesconi, Marco (University of Essex); Johannsdottir, Ásthildur M. (University of Iceland); Zoega, Gylfi (Birkbeck College, University of London) |
| Abstract: | Leveraging administrative data from the University of Iceland, which cover more than 60% of the undergraduate population in the country, we examine how home exams and peer networks shape grades around the COVID-19 crisis. Using difference-in-difference models with a rich set of fixed effects, we find that home exams taken during university closures raised grades by about 0.5 points (about 7%) relative to invigilated in-person exams outside the pandemic period. Access to a larger share of high-school peers leads to an average grade increase of up to two-fifths of a point, and exposure to higher-quality peers yielded additional, but smaller gains. Interactions between peer-network measures and the COVID/home-exam indicators are near zero, providing no evidence that peer networks amplified home-exam gains during the pandemic. |
| Keywords: | networks, COVID-19, online education, academic performance, academic dishonesty, Iceland |
| JEL: | I21 I23 J24 D85 J16 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18344 |
| By: | Grebol, Ricard (affiliation not available); Machelett, Margarita (Banco de España); Stuhler, Jan (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid); Villanueva, Ernesto (Bank of Spain) |
| Abstract: | We study the evolution of intergenerational educational mobility and related distributional statistics in Spain. Over recent decades, mobility has risen by one-third, coinciding with pronounced declines in inequality and assortative mating among the same cohorts. To explore these patterns, we examine regional correlates of mobility, using split-sample techniques. A key finding from both national and regional analyses is the close association between mobility and assortative mating: spousal sorting accounts for nearly half of the regional variation in intergenerational correlations and also appears to be a key mediator of the negative relationship between inequality and mobility documented in recent studies. |
| Keywords: | assortative mating, intergenerational mobility, inequality, education |
| JEL: | I24 J12 J62 N34 R11 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18351 |
| By: | Lagos, Francisco (University of Maryland at College Park); Saltmarsh, Jason (Old Dominion University); Liu, Jing (University of Maryland) |
| Abstract: | This study examines how centralized-admission school lotteries affect between-school racial and ethnic segregation in the largest U.S. public school districts. Using original nationwide panel data and a difference-in-differences design with staggered adoption, the research analyzes effects on school composition, intergroup exposure, and distribution evenness. The findings reveal that centralized-admission lotteries led to increased White student enrollment in district schools and modest improvements in intergroup exposure. Black-White exposure rose by 1.6 percentage points and student of color-White exposure by 1.8 points. However, White students experienced reduced exposure to all racial and ethnic groups, with similar patterns for Black, Asian, and other students of color. While centralized lotteries modestly redistribute students, they do not significantly reduce overall segregation, challenging assumptions about equity-promoting reforms. These results underscore the need for complementary policies including weighted lottery designs, transportation subsidies, and targeted adoption to address the structural roots of school segregation. |
| Keywords: | school choice, centralized-admission lotteries, school segregation, student assignment |
| JEL: | I24 I28 J15 H75 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18306 |
| By: | Martin B. Holm (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | Financial and quantitative education, such as pursuing a degree in business or economics, should potentially equip individuals with the skills to better allocate their financial resources. This paper leverages discontinuities in admission cutoffs in the Norwegian higher education system to estimate the causal effect of entering a field of study on returns to wealth later in life. We find no statistically significant impact of entering any field of study on returns to wealth later in life, mainly because our estimation sample is too small to confidently identify the effect of field of study on returns to wealth. We thus conclude that we still do not know whether completing a specific field of study affects returns to wealth. |
| Keywords: | Education and Inequality; College Admission |
| JEL: | I24 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:1027 |
| By: | Anger, Silke (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg); Christoph, Bernhard (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg); Galkiewicz, Agata (University of Potsdam); Margaryan, Shushanik (University of Potsdam); Sandner, Malte (Technische Hochschule Nürnberg); Siedler, Thomas (University of Potsdam) |
| Abstract: | Tutoring programs for low-performing students, delivered in-person or online, effectively enhance school performance, yet their medium- and longer-term impacts on labor market outcomes remain less understood. To address this gap, we conduct a randomized controlled trial with 839 secondary school students in Germany to examine the effects of an online tutoring program for low-performing students on academic performance and school-to-work transitions. The online tutoring program had a non-significant intention-to-treat effect of 0.06 standard deviations on math grades six months after program start. However, among students who had not received other tutoring services prior to the intervention, the program significantly improved math grades by 0.14 standard deviations. Moreover, students in non-academic school tracks experienced smoother school-to-work transitions, with vocational training take-up 18 months later being 5 percentage points higher—an effect that was even larger (12 percentage points) among those without prior tutoring. Overall, the results indicate that tutoring can generate lasting benefits for low-performing students that extend beyond school performance. |
| Keywords: | school grades, disadvantaged youth, randomized controlled trial, online tutoring, school-to-work transition |
| JEL: | C93 I20 I24 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18307 |
| By: | Michael Graber; Lars J. Kirkebøen (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | Shortage of skilled healthcare workers is a global challenge. In this paper, we study applicants to Norwegian nursing programs. Mapping out their educational and employment trajectories, we find that a substantial share of admitted applicants never complete nursing or work as nurses, but also that many rejected applicants reapply and complete later. Thus, the effect of admitting an applicant on the applicant's completion or labor supply as a nurse is much smaller than one-to-one. Using admission discontinuities, we study the heterogeneous effects of admission on enrollment, completion, and subsequent labor market outcomes. We find indications that the effect of admission is smaller for men than for women, highlighting a possible conflict between the goals of more nurses and gender balance in nursing. |
| Keywords: | Nurse education; college admission; heterogeneous effects; RDD |
| JEL: | I18 I23 I28 J2 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:1021 |