Research

Working Paper

Relative Age Effects on Educational Outcomes: International Evidence from the Developing World

Students with different birthdays who are subject to the same school-entry cutoff date have different ages at school entry. This difference in maturity may affect a child’s outcomes in school because we might expect that students who are more mature relative to their peers will perform better; a phenomenon called `relative age effects'. While the focus of previous studies has been limited to developed countries, this study aims to provide evidence of relative age effects in the context of developing countries. Using Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study data and assigned relative age as an instrumental variable that is formed exogenously by this cutoff, I find that positive relative age effects on test scores exist in developing countries, but they are smaller than those in developed countries. I also explore the educational factors correlated to the magnitude of relative age effects using cross-country data.

Works in Progress

Trends in Academic Achievement: Gender and Socioeconomic Disparities  (Joint work with Kelly Bedard)

The Impact of International Students on Minorities in US Higher Education