The Choice of Retaking Competitive Exams

Fanny Landaud and Éric Maurin ()
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Éric Maurin: CY Cergy Paris Université, THEMA

No 2025-06, THEMA Working Papers from THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise

Abstract: In many countries, access to top science programs is determined by standardized competitive exams. If they fail, candidates are generally allowed to repeat their preparation and retake the exams. Relying on French data, we assess the impact of repetition on repeaters as well as on non-repeaters at the margin of repetition. Both groups appear to benefit equally from repetition, suggesting that students do not self-select into repeating based on their potential progress. Students who choose to repeat are predominantly male and high-income, which contributes to the persistence of significant income and gender gaps in access to top science programs.

Keywords: I21; I24; I23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ema:worpap:2025-06

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