Why Is the Timing of School Tracking So Heterogeneous?

Kenn Ariga (), Giorgio Brunello, Roki Iwahashi () and Lorenzo Rocco
Additional contact information
Kenn Ariga: Kyoto University
Roki Iwahashi: University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa

No 1854, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Secondary schools in the developed world differ in the degree of differentiation and in the first age of selection of pupils into different tracks. In this paper, we account for the heterogeneity of tracking time with a simple stochastic model which conjugates the returns from specialization with the costs of early selection. We calibrate the model for 20 countries – including most of Europe, the US and Japan – and show that the model performs rather well in replicating the observed heterogeneity, with the remarkable exception of Germany.

Keywords: tracking; secondary schools (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H52 H73 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36 pages
Date: 2005-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-pbe and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

Published - substantial revision published as 'On the efficiency costs of de-tracking secondary schools in Europe" in: Education Economics, [iFirst]

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