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Gift Of Time And Family Gift: The Effect Of Early School Entry On Pupils Performance

Author

Listed:
  • Patrizia Ordine
  • Giuseppe Rose
  • Daniela Sposato

    (Dipartimento di Economia, Statistica e Finanza, Università della Calabria)

Abstract

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the effect of early school entry on educational outcomes using standardized test score data on Italian pupils. The empirical procedure is designed to disentangle the effect of regular entry (Gift of Time) from possible unobserved confounding factors (Family Gift) affecting both enrollment decision and schooling outcome. We tackle the issue of selection on unobservables by using a Regression Discontinuity Design so that exogenous age thresholds are used to compare children with similar age but different educational choices. Our estimates suggest that anticipated school entry may generate severe penalties in test scores which persist during primary school. Our fi?ndings have policy implications for parents, which struggle with the question of whether they should send their children to school as soon as they are eligible, and for governments, which can change cutoff birth date for ?first enrollment into school.

Suggested Citation

  • Patrizia Ordine & Giuseppe Rose & Daniela Sposato, 2014. "Gift Of Time And Family Gift: The Effect Of Early School Entry On Pupils Performance," Working Papers 201408, Università della Calabria, Dipartimento di Economia, Statistica e Finanza "Giovanni Anania" - DESF.
    • Handle: RePEc:clb:wpaper:201408
    as

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    File URL: http://www.ecostat.unical.it/RePEc/WorkingPapers/WP08_2014.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rashmi Barua & Kevin Lang, 2009. "School Entry, Educational Attainment and Quarter of Birth: A Cautionary Tale of LATE," NBER Working Papers 15236, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Claire Crawford & Lorraine Dearden & Costas Meghir, 2010. "When you are born matters: the impact of date of birth on educational outcomes in England," IFS Working Papers W10/06, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    3. Fertig, Michael & Kluve, Jochen, 2005. "The Effect of Age at School Entry on Educational Attainment in Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 1507, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Leuven, Edwin & Lindahl, Mikael & Oosterbeek, Hessel & Webbink, Dinand, 2010. "Expanding schooling opportunities for 4-year-olds," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 319-328, June.
    5. Robertson, Erin, 2011. "The effects of quarter of birth on academic outcomes at the elementary school level," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 300-311, April.
    6. Kawaguchi, Daiji, 2011. "Actual age at school entry, educational outcomes, and earnings," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 64-80, June.
    7. Kelly Bedard & Elizabeth Dhuey, 2012. "School-Entry Policies and Skill Accumulation Across Directly and Indirectly Affected Individuals," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 47(3), pages 643-683.
    8. Todd E. Elder & Darren H. Lubotsky, 2009. "Kindergarten Entrance Age and Children’s Achievement: Impacts of State Policies, Family Background, and Peers," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(3).
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Age at school entry; primary school; standardized test scores;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education

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