In this paper we investigate the existence and the size of geographical differences in Italian students’ mathematical competencies. We analyze a novel data set that combines the 2003 wave of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) with information about local economic...

In this paper we investigate the existence and the size of territorial differences in Italian students’ mathematical competencies. Our analysis benefits from a new data set that merges the 2003 wave of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) with territorial data...

There are two main dimensions of inequality in Italy. On one side, there is geography. The sharp division between a more developed North and a backwards South has been a central feature of the country since the birth of the Italian national state, and is still, a central topic of Italian...

Thanks to the effort of two local educational authorities, in two regions of North Italy (Valle d'Aosta and the autonomous province of Trento) the PISA 2009 test was re-administered to the same students one year later. This paper is the first to analyse in the OECD-PISA context the potential...