As thousands of undergraduates across the UK take their exams, a study by Andy Feng and Georg Graetz reveals the importance of the results for subsequent earnings - specifically the value of a First compared with an Upper Second and the difference between an Upper Second and a Lower Second.

How does measured performance at university affect labor market outcomes? We show that degree class - a coarse measure of student performance used in the UK - causally affects graduates' industry and hence expected wages. To control for unobserved ability, we employ a regression discontinuity...

Many education systems aim to provide learning opportunities to all students regardless of their backgrounds in order for them to realise their potential. Education systems are expected to break down barriers to social mobility. However, too often, children are not given enough opportunities to...

This paper tests if gender-discrimination in grading affects pupils' achievements and course choices. I use a unique dataset containing grades given by teachers, scores obtained anonymously by pupils at different ages, and their course choice during high school. Based on double-differences, the...

This paper provides some evidence that repeat taking of competitive exams may reduce the impact of background disadvantages on educational outcomes. Using administra- tive data on the university entrance exam in Turkey, the paper estimates cumulative learning between the first and the nth...

Las escuelas pobres para "pobres" cristalizan la brecha social y profundizan las desigualdades. En otras palabras, las condiciones materiales de las escuelas pueden tener un efecto redistributivo porque impactan positivamente sobre el aprendizaje y contrarrestan la incidencia del nivel...

Researchers have defined and assessed inequalities and inequities in education in various ways, making it difficult to make comparisons among countries or among jurisdictions within countries. This paper sets out practical definitions for equality and equity in education and discusses the...

Esta Nota Técnica describe la desigualdad en los aprendizajes de los alumnos colombianos y analiza la equidad en la distribución de los recursos y procesos que ocurren en la escuela y su relación con los aprendizajes. Usando la base de datos del SABER 2009, el análisis muestra que en...

This paper estimates the relationship between parents’ educational attainment and income and children’s schooling in Uruguay between 1982 and 2010. This relationship is interpreted as a measure of intergenerational social mobility, and the paper reports evidence that it has decreased over...