This paper uses multiple data sources and a unified methodology to estimate the trends and levels of the U.S. high school graduation rate. Correcting for important biases that plague previous calculations, we establish that (a) the true high school graduation rate is substantially lower than the...

This study attempts to explain the effects of ethnic and linguistic diversity on educational attainment. We argue that cross-section differences in ethnic and linguistic fractionalization can explain a substantial part of the cross-country differences in educational attainment levels. Using a...

We study an intensive math instruction policy that assigned low-skilled 9th graders to an algebra course that doubled instructional time, altered peer composition and emphasized problem solving skills. A regression discontinuity design shows substantial positive impacts of double-dose algebra on...

We collect data on time preferences of a representative sample of the Hungarian population in a non-incentivized way and investigate how patience and present bias associate with important life outcomes in five domains: i) educational attainment, ii) unemployment, iii) income and wealth, iv)...

This paper investigates gender inequality of academic achievement using mean and quantile decomposition analysis in eight selected MENA countries. We use data from TIMSS 2007 to decompose the test scores gap between boys and girls at the eighth grade. There is a mixed picture of gender...

This study examines the determinants of educational outcome in eight selected MENA countries. The complicated structure of the TIMSS data has been considered carefully during all the stages of the analysis employing plausible values and jackknife standard error technique to accommodate the...

Despite the relatively uncontested importance of promoting school attendance in the policy arena, little evidence exists on the causal effect of school absence on long-run socio-economic outcomes. We address this question by combining historical and administrative records for cohorts of Swedish...

There has been a recent rapid increase in immigration into Europe, specifically in the form of refugees and asylum seekers. This raises a range of social challenges and a particular focus is education and school systems. A growing body of research investigates the impact of immigrants on native...

Online offerings at traditional brick-and-mortar universities have become common, though some question if online courses can adequately substitute for the in-person college experience. We explore changes in undergraduate online course enrollment at a large, public 4-year system and the impacts...

The allocation of Moluccan immigrants across towns and villages at arrival in the Netherlands and the subsequent formation of interethnic marriages resemble a natural experiment. The exogenous variation in marriage formation allows us to estimate the causal effect of interethnic marriages on the...