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on Education |
| By: | María Cervini-Plá (Department of Applied Economics, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain & EQUALITAS.); Alina Machado (Instituto de Economía, Universidad de la República, Uruguay.) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of the exogenous shock of COVID-19 which led to a transition from in-person to online education, on the academic performance of university students, with a particular focus on gender differences. We exploit a unique and comprehensive dataset that includes all evaluation activities and their outcomes, for students enrolled in 2018 and 2019 at the main university in Uruguay. Using difference-in-differences techniques, we find that female students outperformed their male counterparts by passing more courses and improving their grade point average. This effect is observed among women from higher socioeconomic backgrounds and those who enter university immediately after finishing secondary school. Exploring the mechanisms behind these outcomes, we find that women report having greater participation compared to in-person classes, perceive more advantages in staying at home, and recognize more benefits in not commuting to the educational institution. |
| Keywords: | Gender, education, performance, online learning, university |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uab:wprdea:wpdea2511 |
| By: | Acton, Riley (Miami University); Cook, Emily E. (Texas A&M University); Ugalde Araya, Paola (Louisiana State University) |
| Abstract: | We examine the role of students’ political views in shaping college enrollment decisions in the United States. We hypothesize that students derive utility from attending institutions aligned with their political identities, which could reinforce demographic and regional disparities in educational attainment and reduce ideological diversity on campuses. Using four decades of survey data on college freshmen, we document increasing political polarization in colleges' student bodies, which is not fully explained by sorting along demographic, socioeconomic, or academic lines. To further explore these patterns, we conduct a series of survey-based choice experiments that quantify the value students place on political alignment relative to factors such as cost and proximity. We find that both liberal and conservative students prefer institutions with more like-minded peers and, especially, with fewer students from the opposite side of the political spectrum. The median student is willing to pay up to $2, 617 (12.5%) more to attend a college where the share of students with opposing political views is 10 percentage points lower, suggesting that political identity plays a meaningful role in the college choice process. |
| Keywords: | politics, polarization, college choice, higher education |
| JEL: | I20 I23 J1 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18099 |
| By: | Agata Galkiewicz |
| Abstract: | Random disturbances such as air pollution may affect cognitive performance, which, particularly in high-stakes settings, may have severe consequences for an individual's productivity and well-being. This paper examines the short-term effects of air pollution on school leaving exam results in Poland. I exploit random variation in air pollution between the days on which exams are held across three consecutive school years. I aim to capture this random variation by including school and time fixed effects. The school-level panel data is drawn from a governmental program where air pollution is continuously measured in the schoolyard. This localized hourly air pollution measure is a unique feature of my study, which increases the precision of the estimated effects. In addition, using distant and aggregated air pollution measures allows me for the comparison of the estimates in space and time. The findings suggest that a one standard deviation increase in the concentration of particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10 decreases students' exam scores by around 0.07-0.08 standard deviations. The magnitude and significance of these results depend on the location and timing of the air pollution readings, indicating the importance of the localized air pollution measure and the distinction between contemporaneous and lingering effects. Further, air pollution effects gradually increase in line with the quantiles of the exam score distribution, suggesting that high-ability students are more affected by the random disturbances caused by air pollution. |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2506.19801 |
| By: | Cullen, Julie Berry; Dahl, Gordon B. (University of California, San Diego); De Thorpe, Richard (Princeton University) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the effects of being over- or underqualified for a job using quasi-random assignment of new enlistees to over 130 different jobs in the US Air Force. Being overqualified causes higher attrition, both during technical training and afterward when individuals are working in their assigned jobs. It also results in more behavioral problems, worse performance evaluations, and lower scores on general knowledge tests about the military taken by all workers. On the other hand, overqualification results in better performance relative to others in the same job: job-specific test scores rise both during technical training and while on the job, and these individuals are more likely to be promoted. Combined, these patterns suggest that overqualified individuals are less motivated, but still outperform others in their same job. Underqualification results in a polar opposite set of findings, suggesting these individuals are motivated to put forth more effort, but still struggle to compete when judged relative to others. Consistent with differential incentives, individuals who are overqualified are in jobs which are less valuable in terms of outside earnings potential, while the reverse is true for those who are underqualified. |
| Keywords: | retention, skill acquisition, job mismatch, promotion |
| JEL: | J24 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18098 |
| By: | Ahimbisibwe, Isaac (Baylor University); Altjmed, Adam (Swedish Institute for Social Research); Artemov, Georgy (University of Melbourne); Barrios-Fernandez, Andres (Universidad de los Andes); Bizopoulou, Aspasia (VATT, Helsinki); Kaila, Martti (University of Glasgow); Liu, Jin-Tan (National Taiwan University); Megalokonomou, Rigissa (Monash University); Montalban, Jose (SOFI, Stockholm University); Neilson, Christopher A. (Princeton University); Sun, Jintao (Rice University); Otero, Sebastian (Columbia University); Ye, Xiaoyang (Amazon) |
| Abstract: | Women account for only 35% of global STEM graduates, a share that has remained unchanged for a decade. We use administrative microdata from centralized university admissions in ten systems to deliver the first cross-national decomposition of the STEM gender gap into a pipeline gap (academic preparedness) and a choice gap (first-choice field conditional on eligibility). In deferred-acceptance platforms where eligibility is score-based, we isolate preferences from access. The pipeline gap varies widely, from -19 to +31 percentage points across education systems. By contrast, the choice gap is remarkably stable: high-scoring women are 25 percentage points less likely than men to rank STEM first. |
| Keywords: | centralized application platforms, STEM gender gap, gender inequality |
| JEL: | I23 I24 N30 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18092 |
| By: | Zhu, Chen; Böckerman, Petri |
| Abstract: | In genetics, heterosis refers to the phenomenon where crossbreeding within a species produces offspring with greater genetic fitness and superior phenotypic characteristics compared to their parents. We propose a novel socioeconomic heterosis hypothesis and examine whether genetic diversity at the individual level benefits economic success. Empirical results from UK Biobank (N=488, 152) indicate that people with higher genome-wide heterozygosity perform better in modern societies. We find consistent, positive links with education, earnings, leadership, height, and ownership of a home and car; a one standard deviation increase in heterozygosity is associated with 0.75% higher income and modest gains in schooling and assets. Results hold with additional controls and Bonferroni correction for multiple hypothesis testing; no effects are found for migration, diabetes, or neuroticism. The relationship rises steadily across the observed range and is stronger for men, suggesting sexual selection in socioeconomic settings. Because heterozygosity is fixed at conception, our evidence points to an underappreciated endowment shaping human capital and wealth accumulation. The contribution is to introduce and document individual-level heterosis effects in economics, offering a new channel for inequality and socioeconomic outcomes. |
| Keywords: | heterosis, genetic heterozygosity, income, education, socioeconomic achievement, sexual selection |
| JEL: | J10 J24 D31 I14 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1660 |