How Long Does it Last? The Relative Age Effect in Korean Elementary Education

An elementary school student's relative age is defined as the child's age relative to the age of its classmates. To what extent relative age gaps influence academic outcomes is an ongoing debate in educational economics and related fields. Our study analyzes the existence, magnitude, and duration of relative age effects in South Korea for various school subjects. Our results show that relative age effects are stronger for science related subjects and that they disappear after students graduate from elementary school and start their secondary school education