Unlearning Traditionalism: The Long-Run Effects of Schools on Gender Attitudes

Javier Garcia-Brazales

The Economic Journal, 2026, vol. 136, issue 674, 721-749

Abstract: Can sustained exposure to females persistently modernise gender attitudes? I study the impact of female peers on gender roles, perceived relative gender ability and gender-related behaviours up to nine years later. For this, I exploit two-decade longitudinal information on cognition, attitudes, aspirations and expectations of a close-to-nationally-representative cohort of Vietnamese primary schoolers exogenously allocated to peers. I find that being in classes with a higher share of females weakens traditional gender views both for males and females, which I complement with suggestive evidence that this translates into actual behaviour. These results indicate that early exposure to females can shift slow-moving attitudes even in contexts of high overall cross-gender interactions.

Date: 2026
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