The Effect of Increasing Education Efficiency on University Enrollment: Evidence from Administrative Data and an Unusual Schooling Reform in Germany

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in AbstractWe examine the consequences of compressing secondary schooling on students' university enrollment. An unusual education reform in Germany reduced the length of academic high school while simultaneously increasing the instruction hours in the remaining years. Accordingly, students receive the same amount of schooling but over a shorter period of time, constituting an efficiency gain from an individual's perspective. Based on a difference-indifferences approach using administrative data on all students in Germany, we find that this reform decreased enrollment rates. Moreover, students are more likely to delay their enrollment, to drop out of university, and to change their major. Our results show that it is not easy to get around the trade-off between an earlier labor market entry and more years of schooling.

Increased instruction time and stress-related health problems among school children

“…A ected students had also less leisure time (Meyer and omsen, 2015;Hübner et al, 2017). Further, the reform resulted in delayed university enrollment for some students (Meyer and omsen, 2016;Marcus and Zambre, 2018) and slightly reduced enrollment rates (Marcus and Zambre, 2018). However, a ected students graduated earlier from high school and enrolled in university at signi cantly younger ages (Marcus and Zambre, 2018), thereby allowing for an earlier labor market entry.…”

New Evidence on the Effects of the Shortened School Duration in the German States: An Evaluation of Post-secondary Education Decisions

“…Using data from Saxony-Anhalt, Meyer and Thomsen (2016) identify a later (but not lower) enrolment of female students in university education. Preliminary findings by Marcus and Zambre (2016) indicate delayed university enrolment. Regarding success at university, the study by K€ uhn (2014) shows that the reform has had no reasonable impact.…”

The Impact of the Length of Schooling on the Timing of Family Formation

“…Further, our study points out that the consequences for family formation should be considered when discussing policies that affect the duration of specific life phases. This is important, for instance, in current debates about the European Bologna reform shortening the time to a fist university degree (Hahm and Kluve, 2019), the suspension (and re-introduction) of compulsory military service in several countries (Imbens and van der Klaauw, 1995;Bauer et al, 2012), the German G8 reform shortening the schooling phase (Huebener and Marcus, 2017;Marcus and Zambre, 2019), and the general education expansion occurring in many developed and developing countries.…”