School Starting Age and the Gender Pay Gap over the Life Cycle

Kamila Cygan-Rehm and Matthias Westphal

No 12274, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: This paper replicates and extends the evidence on the lifetime effects of school starting age on earnings by Fredriksson and Öckert (2014) for Sweden. Using German data for individuals born between 1945 and 1965, we examine a more rigid system of ability tracking in secondary education, a potential driver of long-term effects. We confirm negligible effects of later school entry for men and positive effects for women. These gender differences arise despite similar effects on educational attainment. By unfolding the gender gaps over the lifecycle, assessing fertility decisions, and maternal employment around the first birth, we show that childbirth postponement and increased labor market attachment after the first birth seem to be plausible mechanisms.

Keywords: school starting age; lifetime effects; education; gender gap (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 I24 I26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12274

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