A Big Fish in a Small Pond: Ability Rank and Human Capital Investment

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Elsner, Benjamin; Isphording, Ingo E.
• 署名单位: IZA Institute Labor Economics
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0734-306X
• DOI: 10.1086/690714
• 发表日期: 2017
• 页码: 787-828
• 关键词: student-achievement; natural experiment; causal mechanisms; field experiment; school choice; self-concept; INFORMATION; education; outcomes; classroom

摘要

We study the impact of a student's ordinal rank in a high school cohort on educational attainment several years later. To identify a causal effect, we compare multiple cohorts within the same school, exploiting idiosyncratic variation in cohort composition. We find that a student's ordinal rank significantly affects educational outcomes later in life. Students with a higher rank are significantly more likely to finish high school and to attend college. Exploring potential channels, we find that students with a higher rank have higher expectations about their future career, as well as a higher perceived intelligence.