The use of genetic markers as instrumental variables (IV) is receiving increasing attention from economists. This paper examines the conditions that need to be met for genetic variants to be used as instruments. We combine the IV literature with that from genetic epidemiology, with an...

This paper studies the extent to which young children develop their cognitive ability in high and low quality schools. We use a representative panel data set containing cognitive test scores of 4-6 year olds in Dutch schools. School quality is measured by the school's average achievement test...

During the early Nineties the proportion of UK graduates doubled over a very short period of time. This paper investigates the effect of the expansion on early labour market attainment, focusing on over-education. We define over-education by combining occupation codes and a self-reported measure...

This paper addresses the issue of school students' part-time employment in the last year of compulsory education, and its impact on educational outcomes. Estimating the causal effect is not straightforward. Firstly, those who obtain part-time employment could have certain unobservable...

Mental health problems - and depression in particular - have been rising internationally. The link between poor mental health and poor educational outcomes is particularly interesting in the case of the UK which has a low international ranking both on measures of child wellbeing and the...

Mental health problems – and depression in particular – have been rising internationally. The link between poor mental health and poor educational outcomes is particularly interesting in the case of the UK which has a low international ranking both on measures of child wellbeing and the...

Previous studies have found that firstborn children enjoy a distinct advantage over their later- born counterparts in terms of educational attainment. This paper advances the state of knowledge in this area in two ways. First, it analyses the role of young peoples aspirations, estimating the...