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The long shadow of high stakes exams: Evidence from discontinuities

Author

Listed:
  • Hannu Karhunen

    (Palkansaajien tutkimuslaitos)

  • Artturi Björk

Abstract

We estimate the effect of receiving a higher grade on a high school exit exam on labor market and education outcomes. Identification comes from comparing students on di ?erent sides of grade cutoffs. Being above a cutoff in an exam leads to (i) an increase in quality of education, but no change in years of schooling, (ii) an increase in yearly earnings that peaks between 1 and 5% at age 48, but no change in employment. At most 60% of the increase in earnings is explained by better education opportunities.

Suggested Citation

  • Hannu Karhunen & Artturi Björk, 2019. "The long shadow of high stakes exams: Evidence from discontinuities," Working Papers 329, Työn ja talouden tutkimus LABORE, The Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE.
    • Handle: RePEc:pst:wpaper:329
    as

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    File URL: https://labour.fi/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Tyopaperi329.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brigham R. Frandsen, 2017. "Party Bias in Union Representation Elections: Testing for Manipulation in the Regression Discontinuity Design when the Running Variable is Discrete," Advances in Econometrics, in: Regression Discontinuity Designs, volume 38, pages 281-315, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    2. Serena Canaan & Pierre Mouganie, 2018. "Returns to Education Quality for Low-Skilled Students: Evidence from a Discontinuity," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(2), pages 395-436.
    3. Michal Kolesár & Christoph Rothe, 2018. "Inference in Regression Discontinuity Designs with a Discrete Running Variable," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(8), pages 2277-2304, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    High school exit exam; Regression discontinuity;

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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