The research on earnings determination is based on the Mincer-Becker assumption that individuals decide on schooling by maximizing income. This paper offers an alternative and less restrictive approach based on utility maximization. Using this approach, we analyze the efficiency of education...

By the 2008/09 school year the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) abolished binding school catchment areas (SCAs) in all municipalities. The reform has been controversial and it was feared that school choice would increase ethnic segregation. Using data on all primary schools, we...

Der Bildungsföderalismus gerät immer wieder in die Kritik. Er bringe im internationalen Vergleich schlechte Schülerleistungen hervor. Die Schulabschlüsse in den einzelnen Bundesländern seien nicht vergleichbar, was die Mobilität von Familien mit schulpflichtigen Kindern erschwere....

At the age of ten German pupils are given a secondary school track recommendation which largely determines the actual track choice. Track choice has major effects on the life course, mainly through labor market outcomes. Using data from the German PISA extension study, we analyze the effect of...

In this paper, we use data from the German PISA 2003 sample to study the effects of central exit examinations on student performance, student attitudes, and teacher behavior. Unlike earlier studies we use (i) a value-added measure to pin down the effect of central exit exams on learning in the...

Five years after introducing tuition fees, the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) abolished them in March 2011. Using student-level panel data, we assess the effects of this reform on academic activity and performance in two universities in NRW: a state university and a private...

This paper adds to the literature on extracurricular early childhood education and child development by exploiting unique data on an educational project in Germany, the Junior University (JU). Utilizing a quasi-experimental study design, we estimate the causal short-run effect of JU enrollment...

The effect of school closures and distance learning during the COVID19 pandemic on student achievement is still the subject of discussion. After the end of the pandemic-related restrictions, learning losses of students are being assessed and state programs were launched to help students catch up...

Evidence-based education policy needs comprehensive data. Education economists of the Verein für Socialpolitik call for the implementation of a longitudinal education register in Germany to understand the complex interrelationships of education systems. The education register should cover all...