Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics
Working Paper Series,
IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy
No 2020:8: Family background and the responses to higher SAT scores
Georg Graetz (), Björn Öckert () and Oskar Nordström Skans ()
Additional contact information
Georg Graetz: Uppsala University, Postal: Department of Economics Uppsala University,Sweden
Björn Öckert: IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy, Postal: Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy, P O Box 513, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
Oskar Nordström Skans: Uppsala University, Postal: Department of Economics, Senior Faculty,, Sweden
Abstract: Using discontinuities within the Swedish SAT system, we show that additional admission opportunities causally affect college choices. Students with high-educated parents change timing, colleges, and fields in ways that appear rational and informed. In contrast, very talented students with low-educated parents react to higher scores by increasing overall enrolment and graduation rates. Remarkably, most of this effect arises from increased participation in college programs and institutions that they could have attended even with a lower score. This suggests that students with low-educated parents face behavioral barriers even in a setting where colleges are tuition-free, student grants are universal and application systems are simple.
Keywords: Educational choice; intergenerational transmission of education; regression dis-continuity design
68 pages, May 28, 2020
Full text files
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