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Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization

The long-term effect of age at school entry on cognitive competencies in adulthood

While the previous literature finds robust evidence that children who enter school at a more advanced age have better test scores than their younger classmates, only little is known about the persistence of this effect into adulthood. This study is the first to analyze whether the school starting age even affects test scores long after school graduation. The scores were conducted as part of a representative survey of adults, measuring math and language competencies. Exploiting state and year variation in school entry regulations, the results show that a higher school starting age significantly increases competencies in receptive vocabulary.

Görlitz, K., M. Penny und M. Tamm (2022), The long-term effect of age at school entry on cognitive competencies in adulthood. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 194, 91-104

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2021.12.009