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on Education |
| By: | Clifton-Sprigg, Joanna (University of Bath); Homburg, Ines (University of Antwerp); Huyghe, Anneleen (University of Antwerp); Vujic, Suncica (University of Antwerp) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effect of the Brexit process on international student migration from the European Union (EU) to the United Kingdom (UK). Using administrative data on higher education students in the UK, we employ a dynamic and a synthetic difference-in-differences estimator to compare EU to non-EU students. We show that the Brexit referendum itself and the introduction of visa requirements did not affect EU student migration. However, the introduction of higher tuition fees led to a large reduction in EU student applications to UK universities and colleges, and, subsequently, a decline in place offers, student acceptances, and enrolments. The effect ranges from 48% to 64%. Our findings suggest that increased tuition fees acted as a deterrent for EU students wanting to study in the UK. |
| Keywords: | United Kingdom, synthetic difference-in-differences, international student mobility, European Union, Brexit, higher education |
| JEL: | J61 C21 O15 I28 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18178 |
| By: | Ruixue Jia; Gaurav Khanna; Hongbin Li; Yuli Xu |
| Abstract: | China’s unprecedented expansion of higher education in 1999, increased annual college enrollment from 1 million to 9.6 million by 2020. We trace the global ripple effects of that expansion by examining its impact on US graduate education and local economies surrounding college towns. Combining administrative data from China’s college admissions system and US visa data, we leverage the centralized quota system governing Chinese college admissions for identification and present three key findings. First, the expansion of Chinese undergraduate education drove graduate student flows to the US: every additional 100 college graduates in China led to 3.6 Chinese graduate students in the US. Second, Chinese master’s students generated positive spillovers, driving the birth of new master’s programs, and increasing the number of other international and American master’s students, particularly in STEM fields. And third, the influx of international students supported local economies around college towns, raising job creation rates outside the universities, as well. Our findings highlight how domestic education policy in one country can reshape the academic and economic landscape of another through student migration and its broader spillovers. |
| JEL: | F22 I23 J23 J24 J61 O15 O38 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34391 |
| By: | Emilia Del Bono; Angus Holford; Tommaso Sartori |
| Abstract: | We study the effects of academic rank using data on the entire population of children enrolled in primary schools in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1962. Exploiting quasi-random variation in peer group composition, we estimate the causal impact of rank on academic performance, noncognitive development, parental investment, and long-term outcomes. Higher rank improves achievement on the high-stakes eleven-plus examination and strengthens internalizing skills (traits related to self-concept and confidence), suggesting that rank effects operate primarily through students' self-perception. Using a follow-up survey conducted forty years later, we find that rank raises educational attainment, particularly for girls, while long-term income gains emerge only among boys. The gender gap in long-run effects likely reflects historical barriers to women's access to higher education and skilled employment during this period. |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2510.11973 |
| By: | Fagernäs, Sonja (University of Sussex); de la Fuente Stevens, Diego (University of Sussex); Pelkonen, Panu (University of Sussex); del Pozo Segura, Juan Manuel (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú) |
| Abstract: | In the 2010s, Peru experienced an increase in public educational investment, a substantial improvement in public school learning outcomes, and an erosion in the private sector learning premium. We use longitudinal, geo-coded register data on primary schools and pupils in urban areas to study how the improvement in public schooling affected private schools. With a difference in differences (DiD) framework, we demonstrate that the increase in public school quality reduced enrolment and test scores in private schools, primarily in areas with lower education levels. A staggered DiD analysis shows that new public school openings also reduced enrolment in nearby private schools. |
| Keywords: | education policy, school quality, school competition, Latin America |
| JEL: | H52 I20 L33 N36 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18189 |
| By: | Alessandro Balestrino; Lisa Grazzini; Annalisa Luporini |
| Abstract: | We study the roles of quantity and quality of public education in an OLG model in which the working adult cares for her child's education as well as for her elderly parent's consumption, and spends time providing assistance to her parent. A more educated agent has more ability, hence she earns more and provides better assistance. First, we identify the optimal quality-quantity mix that a parent chooses as a function of policy (school fees, income tax, pension). Then, we discuss in a steady-state framework the socially efficient determination of the policy tools. We find that school fees tend to reduce education quantity by boosting working time for both kids and adults, and generally favour the generation of working adults (even though they are the ones paying them), possibly at the expense of a negative impact on the well-being of the young and of the elderly. The opposite is true if education is mostly financed through the income tax. Overall quality is only moderately sensitive to changes in the policy mix. |
| Keywords: | Education Policy, Redistributive taxation |
| JEL: | H42 H52 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:frz:wpaper:wp2025_14.rdf |
| By: | Kawata, Keisuke (University of Tokyo); Komura, Mizuki (Kwansei Gakuin University) |
| Abstract: | This study explores the marriage matching of only-child individuals and the related outcomes. Specifically, we analyze two aspects: First, we investigate the marriage patterns of only children, examining whether people choose mates in a positive or negative assortative manner regarding only-child status. We find that, along with being more likely to remain single, only children are more likely to marry another only child. Second, we measure the matching premium or penalty using the difference in partners’ socioeconomic status, measured by years of schooling, between only-child and non–only-child individuals. Our estimates show that among women who marry an only-child husband, only children are penalized, as their partners’ educational attainment is 0.63 years lower. Finally, we discuss the potential sources of this penalty along with our empirical findings. |
| Keywords: | gender, only children, marriage matching, machine learning |
| JEL: | J11 J12 J16 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18198 |
| By: | Rau, Tomás |
| Abstract: | The widespread use of mobile devices among adolescents has led many schools and governments to consider or implement restrictions on their usage. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the effects of school cellphone policies on student outcomes, focusing primarily on student well-being and classroom dynamics. Using detailed microdata from the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) across 81 countries, the study finds that stricter cellphone policies are associated with significant reductions in classroom distractions and lower levels of student-reported anxiety related to mobile-device use, even under mild enforcement conditions. Moreover, when bans are effectively enforced, measurable improvements in standardized test scores emerge, providing clarity to previously inconclusive findings in the literature. Subgroup analyses reveal limited heterogeneity, although private school students experience greater anxiety reductions. Policy recommendations emphasize the critical role of enforcement, the importance of targeted approaches tailored to school context and socioeconomic differences, and the necessity of continuous policy evaluation and adaptation. |
| JEL: | I21 I31 O33 J24 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:14306 |
| By: | Huben Liu; Dimitris Papanikolaou; Lawrence D.W. Schmidt; Bryan Seegmiller |
| Abstract: | We use recent advances in natural language processing and large language models to construct novel measures of technology exposure for workers that span almost two centuries. Combining our measures with Census data on occupation employment, we show that technological progress over the 20th century has led to economically meaningful shifts in labor demand across occupations: it has consistently increased demand for occupations with higher education requirements, occupations that pay higher wages, and occupations with a greater fraction of female workers. Using these insights and a calibrated model, we then explore different scenarios for how advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are likely to impact employment trends in the medium run. The model predicts a reversal of past trends, with AI favoring occupations that are lower-educated, lower-paid, and more male-dominated. |
| JEL: | J23 J24 N3 O3 O4 |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34386 |