Maturity and school outcomes in an inflexible system: evidence from Catalonia

Caterina Calsamiglia and Annalisa Loviglio

SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, No 1, 49 pages

Abstract: Abstract The existence of a rigid cutoff date which determines when children start primary school creates a large heterogeneity in students’ level of maturity within the classroom. We use rich administrative data of the universe of public schools in Catalonia to show that: (1) relatively younger children do significantly worse both in tests administered at the school level and at the regional level, and they experience greater retention. (2) These effects are homogeneous across SES and significant across the whole distribution of performance. (3) Younger children in our data exhibit higher dropout rates and choose the academic track in secondary school less often. (4) Younger children are more frequently diagnosed with learning disorders.

Keywords: Human capital; Entry age; School cutoff date (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H75 I21 I28 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Working Paper: Maturity and School Outcomes in an Inflexible System: Evidence from Catalonia (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:series:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s13209-019-0196-6

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DOI: 10.1007/s13209-019-0196-6

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