Comprehensive school reform and labor market outcomes over the lifecycle: Evidence from Finland

Abstract

This study focused on the labor market effects of the Finnish comprehensive school reform in 1972–1977 over the lifecycle. The reform increased the age at which students are separated into vocational and general tracks from 11 to 16 as well as updated the curriculum to include more general content instead of vocational. Using longitudinal administrative register data and exploiting the gradual implementation of the reform, I found a negative effect on employment in early career and a positive effect later in the lifecycle. Results for labor earnings are more nuanced and sensitive to different model specifications, but a positive effect was found in the late career. After the reform, the treated were more likely to choose academic secondary education which could mediate the effects on employment. The results were similar for men and women. © 2020

Keywords

Author Keywords

Vocational education employment Earnings Lifecycle Comprehensive school

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations

Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics, Jyvaskyla, Central Finland, Finland

Funding & Acknowledgements

Academy of Finland

Grant: 293445

I thank Tuomas Pekkarinen, Mika Haapanen, Jaakko Pehkonen, Petri Bȵckerman, two anonymous reviewers, and the seminar participants at FDPE and IWAEE for their useful comments. This research was funded by the Strategic Research Council at the Academy of Finland (Grant 293445 ).

Strategic Research Council, SRC

I thank Tuomas Pekkarinen, Mika Haapanen, Jaakko Pehkonen, Petri Bȵckerman, two anonymous reviewers, and the seminar participants at FDPE and IWAEE for their useful comments. This research was funded by the Strategic Research Council at the Academy of Finland (Grant 293445 ).

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Comprehensive school reform and labor market outcomes over the lifecycle: Evidence from Finland

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