The effect of compulsory education on non-cognitive skills: Evidence from low- and middle-income countries

2025/05/14 by Antonia K. Entorf, Thomas Dohmen · 1 voice
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Grit, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation #Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare #Youth Education and Societal Dynamics

paper · doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2025.102654

Abstract

Personality traits, preferences, and attitudes significantly influence labor market outcomes, and these non-cognitive skills are shaped by the social environment. While curriculum interventions can impact these skills, the effect of compulsory education on non-cognitive skills is less well understood. This study investigates the impact of extending compulsory education by examining educational reforms in four low- and middle-income countries. Utilizing cross-sectional data from the World Bank's 2012/2013 initiative, we analyze the within-country variation in compulsory education years. Our findings indicate that increased compulsory education decreases emotional stability, grit, hostile attribution bias, patience, and willingness to take risks, while enhancing openness to experience and alternative solution or consequential thinking.

Citations

• The Growing Importance of Social Skills in the Labor Market*
• Adaptive linear step-up procedures that control the false discovery rate
• Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals.

Discussions

• I am happy to share that my first paper, co-authored with Thomas Dohmen, has been published in the Economics of Education Review today! 😊 doi.org/10.1016/j.ec... [bsky, 11 points, 2 comments]

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