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Schooling and Self-Control

Author

Listed:
  • Deborah A. Cobb-Clark
  • Sarah C. Dahmann
  • Daniel A. Kamhöfer
  • Hannah Schildberg-Hörisch

Abstract

While there is an established positive relationship between self-control and education, the direction of causality remains a matter of debate. We make a contribution to resolving this issue by exploiting a series of Australian and German educational reforms that increased minimum education requirements as a source of exogenous variation in education levels. Instrumental variables estimates suggest that, for people affected by the reforms, an additional year of schooling has no effect on self-control.

Suggested Citation

  • Deborah A. Cobb-Clark & Sarah C. Dahmann & Daniel A. Kamhöfer & Hannah Schildberg-Hörisch, 2024. "Schooling and Self-Control," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1206, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1206
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2007. "The Impact of Length of the School Year on Student Performance and Earnings: Evidence From the German Short School Years," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 117(523), pages 1216-1242, October.
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    3. Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. & Kong, Nancy & Schildberg-Hörisch, Hannah, 2023. "The stability of self-control in a population-representative study," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    4. Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. & Dahmann, Sarah C. & Kamhöfer, Daniel A. & Schildberg-Hörisch, Hannah, 2022. "The Predictive Power of Self-Control for Life Outcomes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 725-744.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    self-control; quasi-experiments; compulsory schooling reforms; Brief Self-Control Scale;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • C26 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Instrumental Variables (IV) Estimation

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