The Fall of the Aspirations Wall: Educational Aspirations, Achievement and Societal Change

Ghazala Azmat and Katja Kaufmann

CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series from University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany

Abstract: We use the German Reunification “experiment” to study how an exogenously changed environment (from state socialism to capitalist democracy) a ects aspirations and future outcomes. We analyze whether, and how quickly, individuals’ educational aspirations adapt, their long-term impact and the underlying mechanisms. Using di erences across cohorts induced by Reunification timing, we show that shortly after, educational aspirations among high school students in East Germany increase substantially and translate into sizable increases of completing university entrance certificate five years later. Perceived educational returns, economic preferences (“consumerism”), socio-political attitudes (“individualism”) and psychological well-being adapt quickly and are directly linked to changes in aspirations.

Keywords: Aspirations; education; perceived returns; economic, social and political preferences; psychological well-being; German Reunification. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 D91 I21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 46
Date: 2020-08
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2020_207

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