The Effect of Preschool Attendance on Secondary School Track Choice in Germany - Evidence from Siblings

Arbeitspapier

We study the effect of preschool attendance on secondary school track choice in Germany which is a crucial outcome that largely predicts educational pathways of children. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, multivariate models show a significant positive association between years of preschool attendance and a child’s probability of attending the highest school track, that is, German Gymnasium. Including family fixed effects in a sibling model, our estimates become considerablysmaller and are no longer significant, indicating an upward bias in multivariate models. Accounting for several sibling-specific covariates, such as measures of innate abilityand social skills, does not change this result. The low intensity of Germany’s centerbased preschool system might be a reason for the zero effects.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: ifo Working Paper ; No. 106

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Education and Research Institutions: General ; Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
• Subject: Preschool education ; sibling models ; GSOEP ; Frühkindliche Bildung ; Bildungsniveau ; Schulauswahl ; Bildungsverhalten ; Schätzung ; Deutschland

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Schlotter, Martin
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich
• (where): Munich
• (when): 2011

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/73782
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET