Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/180438 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 11420
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Using several data sources from Chile, we study the impact of school choice at the time of starting primary school. To study the contribution of school choice, we exploit the combination of multiple cutoffs defining the minimum age at entry, and the difference across municipalities in the composition of the schools according to these cutoffs. Children living in the same municipality, and whose birthday differs by a few days not only have their incentives to delay school entry affected, but also face, in case of not delaying, a different set of schools. We show that a larger set of schools increases the probability of starting in a better school, measured by non high-stakes examination. Moreover, this quasi-experimental variation reveals an important reduction in the likelihood of dropping out, and a reduction in the probability that a child would switch schools during her/his school life. Secondly, for a subsample of students who have completed high school, we observe that a larger school choice at the start of primary school increases students' chance of taking the national examination required for higher education and the likelihood of being enrolled in a selective college.
Subjects: 
age requirements
school choice
JEL: 
A21
I24
I25
I28
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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