The Causal Effect of Studying on Academic Performance

While substantial recent attention has been paid to understanding the determinants of educational outcomes, little is known about the causal impact of the most fundamental input in the education production function - students’ study effort. In this paper, we examine the causal effect of studying on grade performance by taking advantage of unique new data that have been collected specifically for this purpose. Important for understanding the potential impact of a wide array of education policies, the results suggest that human capital accumulation is far from predetermined at the time of college entrance.