Despite a robust college premium, college attendance rates in the United States have remained stagnant and exhibit a substantial socioeconomic gradient. We focus on information gaps— specifically, incomplete information about college benefits and costs—as a potential explanation for these...

We study the effects of admission into elite public high schools in Mexico City on students' expected earnings, arguing these effects provide an indication of the value-added those schools produce. Using data for the centralized and exam-based allocation of students into schools and an adapted...

The so-called unskilled-and-unaware problem was experimentally identified a decade ago: The unskilled are seemingly afflicted by a double curse because they also seem unaware of their (relative) lack of skills. Numerous authors have elaborated on this problem – experimentally as well as...

Bartik provides evidence showing that investment in quality preschool education provides economic payoffs, particularly in lifetime earnings.

This paper analyzes the effect of attending vocational secondary education on labor market outcomes. Using administrative data on school enrollment, labor income, and employment, we identify the type of secondary school attended, as well as the number of months of formal employment and monthly...