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Inequality of educational opportunities and the role of learning intensity

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  • Camarero Garcia, Sebastian

Abstract

Over the 2000s, many federal states in Germany shortened the duration of secondary school by one year while keeping the curriculum unchanged. The quasi-experimental variation arising from the staggered introduction of this reform allows me to identify the causal effect of increased learning intensity, the ratio of curricular content covered per year, on Inequality of Educational Opportunity (IEOp), the share in educational outcome variance explained by predetermined circumstances beyond a student's control. Findings show that higher learning intensity aggravated IEOp due to parental resources becoming more important through support opportunities like private tuition, adapting to an intensified educational process. The effect is stronger for mathematics/science than for reading, implying the existence of subject-dependent curricular flexibilities. My findings underscore the importance of accounting for distributional consequences when evaluating reforms aimed at increasing educational efficiency and point to the role of learning intensity for explaining changes in educational opportunities influencing social mobility.

Suggested Citation

  • Camarero Garcia, Sebastian, 2022. "Inequality of educational opportunities and the role of learning intensity," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113365, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:113365
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/113365/
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Quis, Johanna Sophie & Reif, Simon, 2017. "Health effects of instruction intensity: Evidence from a natural experiment in German high-schools," BERG Working Paper Series 123, Bamberg University, Bamberg Economic Research Group.
    2. Ludger Wößmann & Philipp Lergetporer & Franziska Kugler & Laura Oestreich & Katharina Werner & Franziska Pfaehler, 2015. "Germans Are Ready for Fundamental Educational Reforms – Results of the Ifo Education Barometer 2015," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 68(17), pages 29-50, September.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    compulsory education; educational efficiency; human capital; inequality of opportunity; school reform; social mobility;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion

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