New Evidence on the Effects of the Shortened School Duration in the German States: An Evaluation of Post-Secondary Education Decisions

Tobias Meyer (), Stephan Thomsen and Heidrun Schneider ()
Additional contact information
Tobias Meyer: NIW Hannover, Leibniz Universität Hannover
Heidrun Schneider: DZHW-German Centre for Research on Higher Education and Science Studies

No 9507, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Most German states have reformed university preparatory schooling during the last decade by reducing its duration from 13 to 12 years without changing the graduation requirements. In this paper, we use nationwide data on high school graduates and apply a difference-in-differences approach to evaluate the reform effects on post-secondary education decisions. The results show that enrollment in university education in the first year after high school graduation is reduced in all analyzed states, while participation in voluntary service or staying abroad is increased. In some subgroups, depending on state, gender and family background, university enrollment is decreased additionally beyond the first year.

Keywords: Germany; learning intensity; school duration; post-secondary education decisions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C21 I21 J18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 39 pages
Date: 2015-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-eur, nep-lab and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Published - published in: German Economic Review , 2019, 20 (4), e201-e253.

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Related works:
Journal Article: New Evidence on the Effects of the Shortened School Duration in the German States: An Evaluation of Post‐secondary Education Decisions (2019)
Journal Article: New Evidence on the Effects of the Shortened School Duration in the German States: An Evaluation of Post-secondary Education Decisions (2019)
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