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Must Try Harder: Evaluating the Role of Effort in Educational Attainment

Author

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  • Gianni De Fraja

    (University of Leicester, Università di Roma "Tor Vergata," and CEPR)

  • Tania Oliveira

    (University of Leicester)

  • Luisa Zanchi

    (University of Leeds)

Abstract

The efforts exerted by children, parents, and schools affect the outcome of the education process. We build this idea into a theoretical model where the effort exerted by the three groups of agents is simultaneously determined as a Nash equilibrium. The empirical analysis tests the model using the British National Child Development Study and finds support for this idea. We identify which factors affect educational attainment directly and which indirectly through effort. From a policy perspective, the paper indicates that affecting effort directly would have a positive impact on attainment. © 2010 The President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Gianni De Fraja & Tania Oliveira & Luisa Zanchi, 2010. "Must Try Harder: Evaluating the Role of Effort in Educational Attainment," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(3), pages 577-597, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:92:y:2010:i:3:p:577-597
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