|
on Education |
| By: | Juan Muñoz-Morales (LEM - Lille économie management - UMR 9221 - UA - Université d'Artois - UCL - Université catholique de Lille - ULCO - Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, IÉSEG School Of Management [Puteaux]) |
| Abstract: | This study provides evidence that natural disasters negatively affect student outcomes, potentially explaining the lower academic achievement of students in rural areas compared with their urban counterparts in developing countries. Using data from the Colombian school census, I estimate a difference-in-differences strategy that exploits variation from an unusual rainfall shock affecting more than 2 million people in both urban and rural Colombia. The results show that these disruptions increase school dropout rates and reduce learning outcomes for at least a decade. The effects are concentrated in rural schools, while students in urban schools remain unaffected. I explore several mechanisms and rule out the possibility that the effects are driven by selective migration or a loss of educational resources. Instead, I find evidence that the rainfall shock exacerbated poverty, pushing poorer rural children into unemployment and longer work hours. |
| Keywords: | Natural disasters, human capital, education, urban-rural gap, Colombia |
| Date: | 2025–08–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05495376 |
| By: | Ryunosuke GOYUDE; Yuki HIGUCHI; Makiko NAKAMURO; Shinsuke UCHIDA |
| Abstract: | Using panel data on students enrolled in public elementary and junior high schools in Saitama Prefecture, we conduct a comprehensive analysis focusing primarily on the effects of temperature on school non-attendance, while also examining academic achievement, non-cognitive skills, bullying, and violent behavior. The results indicate that an increase in the number of extremely hot and cold days in the previous year leads to an increase in the number of non-attending students per school grade. The rise in school non-attendance is not driven by illness or accidents; rather, anxiety and mood disorders and anxiety emerge as statistically significant contributing factors. Moreover, the increase in non-attendance associated with both high and low temperatures is particularly pronounced among junior high school students. The findings also suggest that the adverse effects of extreme heat may be partially offset by the presence of air conditioning (cooling systems) installed in schools. In contrast, no significant effects of temperature are observed for bullying or violent behavior. Furthermore, despite prior studies reporting negative effects of temperature on academic achievement and non-cognitive skills, no clear effects were observed for these outcomes. These findings suggest that the estimated and non-cognitive effects may be attenuated by an increase in non-attending students who do not participate in achievement tests. |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rdpsjp:26009 |
| By: | Jungho Lee (Yonsei University); Sunha Myong (Kyung Hee University) |
| Abstract: | We show that financial constraints can affect the human capital accumulation of college students by influencing students' labor supply. We document that many college students work a substantial number of hours at low-skill jobs, and students who have fewer financial resources (in particular, parental transfer) tend to work more. We develop a model that incorporates college students' labor supply and its interaction with parental transfer in the presence of financial constraints. By estimating the model, we quantify the trade-off between self-financing and human capital accumulation and discuss the implications of a wage subsidy policy. |
| Keywords: | College Education, Parental Transfer, Labor Supply, Intergenerational Mobility, Financial Constraints |
| JEL: | I22 I23 I24 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yon:wpaper:2026rwp-278 |
| By: | Marius Guenzel; Shimon Kogan; Marina Niessner; Kelly Shue |
| Abstract: | Human capital—encompassing cognitive skills and personality traits—is central for labor-market success, yet personality remains difficult to measure at scale. Leveraging advances in AI and comprehensive LinkedIn microdata, we extract the Big 5 personality traits from facial images of 96, 000 MBA graduates, and demonstrate that this novel “Photo Big 5” predicts school rank, job matching, compensation, job transitions, and career advancement. The Photo Big 5 provides predictive power comparable to race, attractiveness, and educational background, and is only weakly correlated with cognitive measures such as test scores. We show that individuals systematically sort into occupations where their personality traits are valued and earn higher wages when traits align with occupational demands. While the scalability of the Photo Big 5 enables new academic insights into the role of personality in labor markets, its growing use in industry screening raises important ethical concerns regarding statistical discrimination and individual autonomy. |
| JEL: | D91 J2 M5 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34808 |
| By: | Carla Coccia; Miriam Prater; Jenny Mosimann |
| Abstract: | When classroom instruction is locked to the curriculum and home support is limited, students with accumulated learning deficits face near-zero marginal returns to instruction. We study two remedial literacy interventions in rural El Salvador using an RCT that randomizes 606 households (with at least one low-performing student) from 26 schools to: (i) five months of twice-weekly, 90-minute small-group pull-out sessions during school hours, or (ii) the same sessions plus a low-cost parental engagement component (WhatsApp messages and three focus meetings), versus control. We estimate small treatment–control differences in literacy endline scores, but these are masked by sizable within-school spillovers: the average control student (22.7% treated peers) gains 0.10–0.14 SD, while the average treated student gains 0.20–0.25 SD relative to low-exposure controls. The parent add-on yields no additional gains and does not increase measured parental engagement. Evidence suggests scope for further gains through higher realized treatment exposure, improved targeting, and more intensive parent-facing designs that translate information into sustained at-home practice. |
| Keywords: | remedial education, randomized controlled trial, El Salvador, development economics |
| JEL: | C93 I21 J24 O15 |
| Date: | 2026–02–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bss:wpaper:52 |
| By: | Bai Yu; Guojun He; Pak Hung Lam; Yanjun Li |
| Abstract: | We investigate the impact of locust swarm invasions on human capital accumulation using data from Burkina Faso, emphasizing short-, medium-, and long-term effects. Using geo-coded data, we find that locust outbreaks reduce school enrollment of the affected cohorts in the short term, decrease their cognitive performance and educational attainment in the medium term, and lower adult incomes in the long run. Crop losses, rising food prices, and use of child labor during the locust crisis drive these effects. Early locust control proves to be a highly cost-effective way to promote education, costing just $7.63 per additional year of schooling. |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:toh:tupdaa:80 |
| By: | Ruth Neville (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); Athina Anastasiadou (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: | The gender composition of international student mobility (ISM) to the United Kingdom (UK) has historically favoured female students, but recent trends indicate a decline in their proportions. This paper investigates the changing trends of female international mobility to UK higher education. It utilises data from the UK Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) on international undergraduate student applications by gender. This study examines evolving patterns of ISM from both European Union (EU) and non-European Union (non-EU) countries, as well as the trajectories of specific countries of origin. Our findings reveal a decline in the share of female students from non-EU countries since 2021, alongside a reduction in female applicants from the EU post-Brexit. Additionally, we observe that countries like Pakistan and India consistently send fewer female students, remaining below gender parity. Using a Generalised Linear Model (GLM), we model the share of female students and assess the influence of demographic, cultural, and policy factors on the share of female applications. Based on these findings, we provide policy recommendations aimed at promoting gender equity in international student recruitment to the UK. |
| Keywords: | United Kingdom, gender, international migration, students |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2026-004 |
| By: | Brunori, Paolo; Fedeli, Emanuele; Triventi, Moris |
| Abstract: | We present an in-depth analysis of educational inequality in Italy, focusing on disparities in educational outcomes and opportunities across different socio-economic, gender, and migration backgrounds. Leveraging administrative longitudinal data, we construct a dataset of 386 small geographical areas with a sufficient sample size to assess the extent to which key ascriptive characteristics predict the mathematical achievement of Italian students in the 5th grade of primary school. Our findings highlight a substantial influence of ascriptive characteristics on students’ educational attainment, able to correctly predict out-of-sample up to 20% of the variability despite the relatively small sample size. We show significant geographical variation that previous studies, based on larger geographical aggregations, were unable to observe comprehensively. Additionally, we identify a weak yet negative trade-off between equality and average attainment, which is more pronounced in southern areas, where higher achievement is associated with greater variance and a stronger influence of ascriptive characteristics. Among the predictors, we find that mother’s education plays a predominant role in most of the country. |
| Keywords: | mathematics; opportunity; education; inequality; machine learning; INVALSI |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2026–01–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:131065 |
| By: | Daniele Caliari; Valentino Dardanoni; Carla Guerriero; Paola Manzini; Marco Mariotti |
| Abstract: | We study experimentally how children’s ability to avoid choice errors develops over time, focusing on both riskless and risky decisions among primary school children. We identify four types of rationality violations: cycles and menu effects in the riskless domain; and dominance and framing effects compatible with correlation neglect in the risky domain. We find that types of violations are correlated within domains but broadly independent across domains. To interpret our results we build and estimate a structural model of limited consideration. We identify an index of error avoidance and study how it develops with age and socioeconomic background, providing a new tool to understand the development of choice errors. |
| Date: | 2026–01–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bri:uobdis:26/821 |
| By: | Dhaval M. Dave; Jooyoung Kim; Nikolaos Prodromidis; Joseph J. Sabia |
| Abstract: | With the goal of curbing electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use among youths, 40 states and the District of Columbia have adopted restrictions on nicotine vaping at elementary and secondary (K-12) schools. This study is the first to estimate the effect of K-12 school vaping restrictions (SVRs) on ENDS use among youth. Using data from several nationally representative data sources and a generalized difference-in-differences approach, we find little evidence that school indoor vaping restrictions reduce youth ENDS use. With 95% confidence, we can rule out SVR-induced youth vaping declines of more than 3.5%. Descriptive evidence suggests that students may respond to SVRs by substituting to smaller vaping devices and vaping in school locations that are less easily detectable by school employees (e.g., bathrooms and locker rooms). In contrast, we find that comprehensive vaping restrictions covering school campuses, workplaces, restaurants, and drinking establishments are associated with a 1.5-2.6 percentage-point reduction in teen nicotine vaping. This result is concentrated on the initiation margin of use and is consistent with the hypothesis that broader place-based restrictions increase the costs of youth ENDS use. |
| JEL: | I0 I12 I18 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34805 |