Going to a Better School: Effects and Behavioral Responses

Cristian Pop-Eleches and Miguel Urquiola

American Economic Review, 2013, vol. 103, issue 4, 1289-1324

Abstract: This paper applies a regression discontinuity design to the Romanian secondary school system, generating two findings. First, students who have access to higher achievement schools perform better in a (high stakes) graduation test. Second, the stratification of schools by quality in general, and the opportunity to attend a better school in particular, result in significant behavioral responses: (i) teachers sort in a manner consistent with a preference for higher achieving students; (ii) children who make it into more selective schools realize they are relatively weaker and feel marginalized; (iii) parents reduce effort when their children attend a better school.

JEL-codes: I21 I28 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.103.4.1289
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (257)

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Working Paper: Going to a Better School: Effects and Behavioral Responses (2011)
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