type="main" xml:id="rssa12079-abs-0001" <title type="main">Summary</title> <p>Empirical studies have shown plasticity of personality traits until early adulthood. The extent to which schooling is a crucial determinant in this context has not yet been analysed coherently. Although they have left the curriculum largely...</p>

This paper analyzes the impact of shortening the duration of secondary schooling on the accumulation of human capital. In 2003, an educational policy reform was enacted in Saxony-Anhalt, a German state, providing a natural experimental setting. The thirteenth year of schooling was eliminated for...