The Long-Run Economic Consequences of High-Stakes Examinations: Evidence from Transitory Variation in Pollution

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Ebenstein, Avraham; Lavy, Victor; Roth, Sefi
• 署名单位: Hebrew University of Jerusalem; University of Warwick; Hebrew University of Jerusalem; University of London; London School Economics & Political Science
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-APPLIED ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7782
• DOI: 10.1257/app.20150213
• 发表日期: 2016
• 页码: 36-65
• 关键词: particulate air-pollution; socioeconomic-status; infant-mortality; outdoor air; HEALTH; asthma; matter; PREVALENCE; CHILDREN; time

摘要

Cognitive performance during high-stakes exams can be affected by random disturbances that, even if transitory, may have permanent consequences. We evaluate this hypothesis among Israeli students who took a series of matriculation exams between 2000 and 2002. Exploiting variation across the same student taking multiple exams, we find that transitory PM2.5 exposure is associated with a significant decline in student performance. We then examine these students in 2010 and find that PM2.5 exposure during exams is negatively associated with postsecondary educational attainment and earnings. The results highlight how reliance on noisy signals of student quality can lead to allocative inefficiency.