We apply propensity score matching to the estimation of differential school effectiveness between the publicly funded private sector and the public one, in a sample of 26 countries. This technique allows us to distinguish between school choice and school effectiveness processes and thus, to...

This paper provides the first evidence on the dynamics of immigrant students’ achievement following their migration to Spain. Using the data from 2003, 2006 and 2009 wave of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), we show that immigrant students tend to perform significantly...

This paper investigates the reading of fiction books by 15-year-olds in 18 OECD countries.It appears that girls fiction books more often than boys, whereas boys read comic books more often than girls.The intensity by which children read fiction books is influenced by parental education, family...

This paper takes an efficiency analysis perspective to analyze, on the basis of the data of the 2009 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey, the determinants of scholastic performance in five Asian countries (Azerbaijan,...

This paper takes a new look at the determinants of cognitive ability. Using the results of the 2006 PISA survey for five Latin American countries (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay) it adopts an efficiency analysis perspective. Rather than selecting as inputs a few variables, it...

This study deals with educational production in Austria and is focused on the potential impact of schoolmates on students' academic outcomes. We used PISA 2000 data to estimate peer effects for 15 and 16 year old students. The estimations yield substantial positive effects of the peer groups'...

This study deals with educational production in Austria and is focused on the potential impact of schoolmates on students’ academic outcomes. We used PISA 2000 data to estimate peer effects for 15 and 16 year old students. The estimations yield substantial positive effects of the peer...

The paper approaches the issue of school choice in an indirect manner by investigating the effectiveness of public, private government-dependent and private independent schools in 19 OECD countries selected from the PISA 2000 survey for this purpose. In a multi-level approach we estimate these...