What can go wrong will go wrong: Birthday effects and early tracking in the German school system

Hendrik Jürges () and Kerstin Schneider ()
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Hendrik Juerges

No 7138, MEA discussion paper series from Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA) at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy

Abstract: At the age of ten German pupils are given a secondary school track recommendation which largely determines the actual track choice. Track choice has major effects on the life course, mainly through labor market outcomes. Using data from the German PISA extension study, we analyze the effect of month of birth and thus relative age on such recommendations. We find that younger pupils are less often recommended to and actually attend Gymnasium, the most attractive track in terms of later life outcomes. Flexible enrolment and grade retention partly offset these inequalities and the relative age effect dissipates as students age.

Date: 2007-07-16
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (24)

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Working Paper: What Can Go Wrong Will Go Wrong: Birthday Effects and Early Tracking in the German School System (2007)
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