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The effect of the intergenerational transmission of noncognitive skills on student performance

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  • Mendez, Ildefonso

Abstract

We analyze whether country differences in the noncognitive skills or qualities that children are encouraged to learn at home, i.e. differences in culture, account for country differences in student performance. We do so by comparing PISA language, mathematics and science scores of second-generation immigrants of different origins living in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland. We use the valuation of different child qualities in the student’s country of ancestry by mid 1980s to approximate students’ cultural heritage. Our estimates suggest that culture plays a prominent role in explaining variation in 15-years-old scholastic performance. A one-standard-deviation increase in our cultural variable accounts to between 10% and 30% of the standard deviation of student performance across ancestries depending on the host country considered. We find that the intergenerational transmission of some child qualities positively related to the conscientiousness personality factor like hard work, responsibility, perseverance and thrift favors the acquisition of cognition as measured by achievement test. A similar result is obtained for the child qualities independence and imagination.

Suggested Citation

  • Mendez, Ildefonso, 2015. "The effect of the intergenerational transmission of noncognitive skills on student performance," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 78-97.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:46:y:2015:i:c:p:78-97
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2015.03.001
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    3. Cordero, Jose M. & Polo, Cristina & Santín, Daniel & Simancas, Rosa, 2018. "Efficiency measurement and cross-country differences among schools: A robust conditional nonparametric analysis," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 45-60.
    4. Anna Bussu & Dimitri Paolini & Manuela Pulina & Giuseppe Zanzurino, 2023. "From Choice to Performance in Secondary Schools: Evidence from a Disadvantaged Setting in Italy," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 9(2), pages 529-555, July.
    5. Capasso, Salvatore & Kaisari, Maria & Kounetas, Konstantinos & Lainas, Elias, 2024. "School productive performance and technology gaps: New evidence from PISA 2018," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    6. Jiaming Soh & Kegon T. K. Tan, 2020. "The Nurture Effects of Multidimensional Parental Skills on College Attainment," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 14(1), pages 1-42.
    7. Perera, Liyanage Devangi H. & Asadullah, M. Niaz, 2019. "Mind the gap: What explains Malaysia’s underperformance in Pisa?," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 254-263.
    8. José García Clavel & Ildefonso Méndez Martínez, 2016. "¿De tal palo tal astilla?," Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación volume 11, in: José Manuel Cordero Ferrera & Rosa Simancas Rodríguez (ed.), Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación 11, edition 1, volume 11, chapter 27, pages 499-510, Asociación de Economía de la Educación.
    9. Balart, Pau & Oosterveen, Matthijs & Webbink, Dinand, 2015. "Test Scores, Noncognitive Skills and Economic Growth," IZA Discussion Papers 9559, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Min Wu & Mengyun Jin & Luyao Zeng & Yihao Tian, 2022. "The Effects of Parental Migrant Work Experience on Labor Market Performance of Rural-Urban Migrants: Evidence from China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-18, September.
    11. Estelle Bellity & Fabrice Gilles & Yannick L'Horty & Laurent Sarfati, 2016. "Faut-il encourager les étudiants à améliorer leur orthographe ?," Working Papers hal-01292167, HAL.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Noncognitive skills; Culture; Test achievement; PISA;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics

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