Research Papers (with Abstracts)
Publications
Returns to Education Quality for Low-Skilled Students: Evidence from a Discontinuity with Serena Canaan. Journal of Labor Economics, 2018, 36(2): 395-436 .
Abstract: This paper studies the labor market returns to quality of higher education for low-skilled students. Using a regression discontinuity design, we compare students who marginally pass and marginally fail the French high school exit exam from the first attempt. Threshold crossing leads to an improvement in the quality, but has no effect on the quantity, of higher education pursued. Specifically, students who marginally pass are more likely to enroll in STEM majors and universities with better peers. Further, marginally passing increases earnings by 13.6 percent at the age of 27 to 29. Our findings show that low-skilled students experience large gains from having the opportunity to access higher quality post-secondary education.
Peer Quality and the Academic Benefits to Attending Better Schools. with Mark Hoekstra and Yaojing Wang. Journal of Labor Economics, 2018, 36(4): 841-884.
Link to ungated version. Also Available as: NBER Working Paper No. 22337
Abstract: Despite strong demand for attending high schools with better peers, there is mixed evidence on whether doing so improves cognitive outcomes. We estimate the cognitive returns to high school quality using administrative data on a high-stakes college entrance exam in China that largely determines university admissions. To overcome selection bias due to endogenous sorting, we use a regression discontinuity design that compares applicants barely above and below high school admission thresholds. Results from across the distribution of school quality cutoffs indicate that while peer quality improves significantly for marginally admitted students, performance does not. However, we do find significant returns to attending elite Tier I high schools. Further evidence suggests that the returns to high school quality are driven by teacher quality, rather than by peer quality or class size.
High Performing Peers and Female STEM Choices in School. with Yaojing Wang. Journal of Labor Economics, 2020, 38(3): 805-841.
Link to ungated version. Also Available as: IZA DP No. 12455
Abstract: Women have historically been underrepresented in STEM majors and occupations, a gap that has persisted over time. There are concerns that this is related to academic choices made at an earlier age. The purpose of this paper is to examine how social environment affects women's STEM choices as early as high school. Using administrative data from China, we find that exposure to high-performing female peers in mathematics increases the likelihood that women choose a science track during high school, while more high-performing males decrease this likelihood. We also find that peer quality has persistent effects on college outcomes. Overall, there is little evidence of peer effects for boys. Our results suggest that girls doing well in mathematics provide an affirmation effect that encourages female classmates to pursue a STEM track.
Conscription and The Returns to Education: Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity. The Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 2020, 122(3): 1112-1139.
Media Coverage: Marginal Revolution; The Grumpy Economist; FranceTV (Blog section); National Affairs (Blog section)
Abstract: In 1997, the French government put into effect a law that permanently exempted young French male citizens born after Jan 1, 1979 from mandatory military service while still requiring those born before that date to serve. This paper uses a regression discontinuity design to identify the effect of peacetime conscription policies on education and labor market outcomes. Results indicate that conscription eligibility induces a significant increase in years of education but has no effect on employment and wages at the ages of 30 to 36. I then examine several competing hypotheses as to why labor market outcomes were unaffected, despite evidence of increased educational attainment. The interpretation most consistent with findings is that the average marginal return to the additional schooling induced by conscription was low.
The Impact of Advisor Gender on Female Students' STEM Enrollment and Persistence, with Serena Canaan . Journal of Human Resources, 2023, 58(2): 593-632.
Previously circulated as: Female Science Advisors and the STEM Gender Gap, IZA DP No. 12415
Abstract: To reduce the gender gap in science fields, policymakers often propose providing women with mentoring by female scientists. However, there is no clear evidence on whether one-on-one mentor gender influences women’s STEM participation. We exploit a unique setting where students are randomly assigned to academic advisors—who are also faculty members—in their freshman year of college. Advisors help students select courses and decide on a major. We find that having a female rather than a male science advisor substantially increases the likelihood that women enroll and graduate with STEM degrees. A non-science advisor’s gender has no impact on students’ major choice.
Does Advisor Gender Affect Women's Persistence in Economics?, with Serena Canaan. American Economic Association Papers and Proceedings, 2021, 111: 112-16.
Abstract: Women persist in the field of economics at significantly lower rates than men. We show that the gender of an academic advisor is an important determinant of female undergraduates' persistence in economics. We use data from a private 4-year college where first-year economics majors are randomly assigned to advisors who are also faculty members in the economics department. Advisors help students choose courses and monitor their academic progress. We find that having a female rather than a male advisor reduces female students' first-year dropout rates and increases their likelihood of graduating with an economics degree.
Advisor Value-Added and Student Outcomes: Evidence from Randomly Assigned College Advisors, with Serena Canaan and Antoine Deeb. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2022, 14(4):151-91. Available as: IZA DP No. 12739
Abstract: This paper provides the first causal evidence on the impact of college advisor quality on student outcomes. To do so, we exploit a unique setting where students are randomly assigned to faculty advisors during their first year of college. We estimate advisor valued-added (VA) based on students' first-year course grades. We find that having a higher grade VA advisor reduces time to complete freshman year and increases four-year graduation rates by 2.5 percentage points. It also raises high-ability students' likelihood of enrolling and graduating with a STEM degree by 4 percentage points. The magnitudes of our estimated effects are comparable to those from successful financial aid programs and proactive coaching interventions. We also show that non-grade measures of advisor VA predict student success. In particular, advisors who are effective at improving students' persistence and major choice also boost other college outcomes. Our results indicate that allocating resources towards improving the quality of academic advising may play a key role in promoting college success.
The Effect of Open-Air Waste Burning on Infant Health: Evidence from Government Failure in Lebanon, with Ruba Ajeeb and Mark Hoekstra. (Forthcoming at Journal of Human Resources).
Available as: NBER Working Paper No. 26835 and IZA DP No. 13036
Abstract: An estimated 40 percent of the world's garbage is burned in open-air fires, which are responsible for as much as half of the global emissions of some pollutants. However, there is little evidence on the health consequences of open air waste burning. In this paper, we estimate the effect of in utero exposure to open air waste burning on birth outcomes. We do so by examining the consequences of the Lebanese garbage crisis of 2015, which led to an abrupt, unanticipated increase in waste burning in residential neighborhoods in Beirut and Mount Lebanon. To identify effects, we exploit variation in exposure across neighborhoods before and after the crisis. Results indicate exposure had large impacts on birth outcomes; in utero exposure to at least one open air waste burn increased premature births by 4 percentage points (50%) and low birth weight by 5 to 8 percentage points (80 - 120%). Given previous research documenting the long-run effects of prenatal shocks on adult health, human capital, and labor market outcomes, this suggests open air waste burning imposes significant costs on populations worldwide.
Working Papers
The Impact of Religious Diversity on Students’ Academic and Behavioral Outcomes,, with Serena Canaan and Antoine Deeb (Revise and Resubmit at Journal of Labor Economics). available as IZA DP No. 15206 and CESifo Working Paper No. 9896.
Abstract: This paper explores how religious diversity affects college students' academic performance and behavior towards members of other religions. Our setting is a secular four-year university located in Lebanon, a country that is deeply divided along religious lines. To identify causal effects, we exploit the university's random assignment of first-year students to peer groups. We proxy students’ religious backgrounds by whether they attended secular, Christian or Islamic high schools. We find that exposure to peers from different religious backgrounds increases Muslim students' enrollment in classes with non-Muslim instructors, suggesting that contact improves openness towards members of other religions. Inter-religious contact also impacts students' academic performance. We show that while exposure to peers from non-Islamic high schools increases Muslim student GPA, exposure to peers from Islamic backgrounds reduces the GPA among students from secular high schools. These asymmetric effects highlight the heterogeneous academic returns to inter-religious mixing in a divided society.
Keep Me In, Coach: The Short- and Long-Term Effects of a University Intervention, with Serena Canaan, Stefanie Fischer and Geoffrey Schnorr (Revise and Resubmit at Journal of Polticial Economy Microeconomics). Working paper available as IZA DP No. 15469 and EdWorkingPaper No. 22-620 . Policy brief available as Upjohn Policy and research brief.
Abstract: To boost college graduation rates, policymakers often advocate for academic supports such as coaching or mentoring. Proactive and intensive coaching interventions are effective, but are costly and difficult to scale. We evaluate a relatively lower-cost group coaching program targeted at first-year college students placed on academic probation. Participants attend a workshop where coaches aim to normalize failure and improve self-confidence. Coaches also facilitate a process whereby participants reflect on their academic difficulties, devise solutions to address their challenges, and create an action plan. Participants then hold a one-time follow-up meeting with their coach or visit a campus resource. Using a difference-in-discontinuity design, we show that the program raises students' first-year GPA by 16.5% of a standard deviation, and decreases the probability of first-year dropout by 8.8 percentage points. Effects are concentrated among lower-income students who also experience a significant increase in the probability of graduating. Finally, using administrative data we provide the first evidence that coaching/mentoring may have substantial long-run effects as we document significant gains in lower-income students' earnings 7 to 9 years following entry to the university. Our mechanism analysis suggests that boosting students' self-confidence via providing them with in-person and credible encouragement can promote both their short- and long-term success.
The Long-Run Educational Benefits of High-Achieving Classrooms, with Serena Canaan and Peng Zhang. (Revise and Resubmit at Journal of Policy Analysis and Management)Available as: IZA DP No. 15039 and EdWorkingPaper No. 22-519.
Abstract: This paper studies how tracking within high school impacts high-achieving students' short- and longer-term academic outcomes. Our setting is a large and selective urban Chinese high school, where first-year students are separated into high-achieving and regular classrooms based on their performance on a standardized exam. Using newly collected administrative data and a regression discontinuity design, we show that high-achieving classrooms improve math test scores by 0.23 standard deviations and effects persist throughout the three years of high school. Impacts on performance in Chinese and English language subjects are more muted. Importantly, we find that high-achieving classrooms raise enrollment in elite universities by 17 percentage points, as they substantially increase scores on the national college entrance exam\textemdash the sole determinant of university admission in China. Effects are concentrated among lower-income students which suggests that access to high-achieving classrooms can play an important role in reducing socioeconomic inequalities. We use data from two other rural high schools and find that high-achieving classrooms also boost performance on math scores and on the college entrance exam, suggesting that these classrooms can be used to reduce rural-urban educational gaps in developing countries.