TY - JOUR A1 - Heisig, Jan Paul A1 - Matthewes, Sönke Hendrik T1 - No evidence that strict educational tracking improves student performance through classroom homogeneity BT - a critical reanalysis of Esser and Seuring (2020) BT - eine kritische Reanalyse von Esser und Seuring (2020) JF - Zeitschrift für Soziologie N2 - In a recent contribution to this journal, Esser and Seuring (2020) draw on data from the National Educational Panel Study to attack the widespread view that tracking in lower secondary education exacerbates inequalities in student outcomes without improving average student performance. Exploiting variation in the strictness of tracking across 13 of the 16 German federal states (e. g., whether teacher recommendations are binding), Esser and Seuring claim to demonstrate that stricter tracking after grade 4 results in better performance in grade 7 and that this can be attributed to the greater homogeneity of classrooms under strict tracking. We show these conclusions to be untenable: Esser and Seuring's measures of classroom composition are highly dubious because the number of observed students is very small for many classrooms. Even when we adopt their classroom composition measures, simple corrections and extensions of their analysis reveal that there is no meaningful evidence for a positive relationship between classroom homogeneity and student achievement - the channel supposed to mediate the alleged positive effect of strict tracking. We go on to show that students from more strictly tracking states perform better already at the start of tracking (grade 5), which casts further doubt on the alleged positive effect of strict tracking on learning progress and leaves selection or anticipation effects as more plausible explanations. On a conceptual level, we emphasize that Esser and Seuring's analysis is limited to states that implement different forms of early tracking and cannot inform us about the relative performance of comprehensive and tracked systems that is the focus of most prior research. N2 - In einem kürzlich in dieser Zeitschrift veröffentlichten Artikel attackieren Esser und Seuring (2020) die verbreitete Auffassung, dass eine frühe Leistungsdifferenzierung in den ersten Jahren der Sekundarstufe Ungleichheiten zwischen Schüler*innen verstärkt, ohne sich positiv auf das durchschnittliche Leistungsniveau auszuwirken. Auf Basis einer Analyse von Daten des Nationalen Bildungspanels für 13 Bundesländer kommen die Autoren zu dem Ergebnis, dass sich eine strenge Leistungsdifferenzierung (z. B. durch bindende Grundschulempfehlungen) positiv auf das Leistungsniveau in Klasse 7 auswirkt und dass dies auf die homogenere Klassenzusammensetzung in strikt differenzierenden Ländern zurückgeführt werden kann. Der vorliegende Beitrag zeigt, dass diese Schlussfolgerungen nicht haltbar sind: Esser und Seurings Indikatoren für die Klassenzusammensetzung sind qualitativ fragwürdig, da die Anzahl gültiger Beobachtungen für viele Klassen sehr klein ist. Selbst bei Verwendung ihrer Indikatoren wird durch einfache Korrekturen und Ergänzungen ihrer Analyse schnell deutlich, dass es keine belastbaren empirischen Belege für den theoretisch zentralen positiven Zusammenhang zwischen homogener Klassenzusammensetzung und Leistungsniveau gibt. Zudem können wir zeigen, dass Schüler*innen in streng differenzierenden Ländern bereits zu Beginn der Sekundarstufe bessere Leistungen erzielen, ein weiteres Ergebnis, das gegen einen (kausalen) positiven Zusammenhang zwischen strenger Differenzierung und Lernfortschritt und für Alternativerklärungen wie Selektions- oder Antizipationseffekte spricht. In konzeptioneller Hinsicht heben wir hervor, dass sich die Analyse von Esser und Seuring auf verschiedene leistungsdifferenzierende Systeme beschränkt und insofern keine unmittelbaren Implikationen für den in der Literatur zentralen Vergleich zwischen differenzierenden und Gesamtschulsystemen (comprehensive systems) haben kann. T2 - Keine Belege für leistungsfördernde Effekte von strikter Leistungsdifferenzierung durch kognitive Homogenisierung KW - Ability Tracking KW - Secondary Education Systems KW - Peer Effects KW - Classroom KW - Composition KW - Mediation Analysis KW - Replication KW - Leistungsdifferenzierung KW - Sekundarbildungssysteme KW - Peer-Effekte KW - Klassenzusammensetzung KW - Mediationsanalyse KW - Replikation Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1515/zfsoz-2022-0001 SN - 0340-1804 SN - 2366-0325 VL - 51 IS - 1 SP - 99 EP - 111 PB - de Gruyter Oldenbourg CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Caliendo, Marco A1 - Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. A1 - Obst, Cosima A1 - Uhlendorff, Arne T1 - Risk preferences and training investments JF - Journal of economic behavior & organization N2 - We analyze workers’ risk preferences and training investments. Our conceptual framework differentiates between the investment risk and insurance mechanisms underpinning training decisions. Investment risk leads risk-averse workers to train less; they undertake more training if it insures them against future losses. We use the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) to demonstrate that risk affinity is associated with more training, implying that, on average, investment risks dominate the insurance benefits of training. Crucially, this relationship is evident only for general training; there is no relationship between risk attitudes and specific training. Thus, consistent with our conceptual framework, risk preferences matter more when skills are transferable – and workers have a vested interest in training outcomes – than when they are not. Finally, we provide evidence that the insurance benefits of training are concentrated among workers with uncertain employment relationships or limited access to public insurance schemes. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2022.11.024 SN - 0167-2681 VL - 205 SP - 668 EP - 686 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Caliendo, Marco A1 - Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. A1 - Pfeifer, Harald A1 - Uhlendorff, Arne A1 - Wehner, Caroline T1 - Managers’ risk preferences and firm training investments JF - European economic review N2 - This study analyses the impact of managers’ risk preferences on their training allocation decisions. We begin by providing nationally representative evidence that managers’ risk-aversion is negatively correlated with the likelihood that their firms engage in any worker training. Using a novel vignette study, we then demonstrate that risk-tolerant and risk-averse decision makers have significantly different training preferences. Risk aversion results in increased sensitivity to turnover risk. Managers who are risk-averse offer less general training and are more reluctant to train workers with a history of job mobility. Adopting a weighting approach to flexibly control for observed differences in the characteristics of risk-averse and risk-tolerant managers, we show that our findings cannot be explained by heterogeneity in either managers’ observed characteristics or the type of firms where they work. All managers, irrespective of their risk preferences, are sensitive to the investment risk associated with training, avoiding training that is more costly or that targets those with less occupational expertise or nearing retirement. This provides suggestive evidence that the risks of training are primarily due to the risk that trained workers will leave the firm (turnover risk) rather than the risk that the benefits of training do not outweigh the costs (investment risk). KW - manager decisions KW - risk attitudes KW - employee training KW - human capital investments Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2023.104616 SN - 0014-2921 SN - 1873-572X PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bruttel, Lisa Verena A1 - Stolley, Florian T1 - Getting a yes BT - an experiment on the power of asking JF - Journal of behavioral and experimental economics N2 - This paper studies how the request for a favor has to be devised in order to maximize its chance of success. We present results from a mini-dictator game, in which the recipient can send a free-form text message to the dictator before the latter decides. We find that putting effort into the message, writing in a humorous way and mentioning reasons why the money is needed pays off. Additionally, we find differences in the behavior of male and female dictators. Only men react positively to efficiency arguments, while only women react to messages that emphasize the dictators power and responsibility. KW - dictator game KW - communication KW - inequality KW - text analysis KW - experiment Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2020.101550 SN - 2214-8043 VL - 86 PB - Elsevier CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Caliendo, Marco A1 - Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. A1 - Obst, Cosima A1 - Seitz, Helke A1 - Uhlendorff, Arne T1 - Locus of control and investment in training JF - Journal of human resources N2 - We extend standard models of work-related training by explicitly incorporating workers’ locus of control into the investment decision through the returns they expect. Our model predicts that higher internal control results in increased take-up of general, but not specific, training. This prediction is empirically validated using data from the German Socioeconomic Panel (SOEP). We provide empirical evidence that locus of control influences participation in training through its effect on workers’ expectations about future wage increases rather than actual wage increases. Our results provide an important explanation for underinvestment in training and suggest that those with an external sense of control may require additional training support. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.57.4.0318-9377R2 SN - 0022-166X SN - 1548-8004 VL - 57 IS - 4 SP - 1311 EP - 1349 PB - University of Wisconsin Press CY - Madison ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Singhal, Puja A1 - Pahle, Michael A1 - Kalkuhl, Matthias A1 - Sommer, Stephan A1 - Levesque, Antoine A1 - Berneiser, Jessica T1 - Beyond good faith BT - why evidence-based policy is necessary to decarbonize buildings cost-effectively JF - SSRN eLibrary / Social Science Research Network N2 - The ambitious climate targets set by industrialized nations worldwide cannot be met without decarbonizing the building stock. Using Germany as a case study, this paper takes stock of the extensive set of energy efficiency policies that are already in place and clarifies that they have been designed “in good faith” but lack in overall effectiveness as well as cost-efficiency in achieving these climate targets. We map out the market failures and behavioural considerations that are potential reasons for why realized energy savings fall below expectations and why the household adoption of energy-efficient and low-carbon technologies has remained low. We highlight the pressing need for data and modern empirical research to develop targeted and cost-effective policies seeking to correct these market failures. To this end, we identify some key research questions and identify gaps in the data required for evidence-based policy. KW - energy efficiency KW - decarbonization KW - housing sector KW - heat demand KW - evidence-based policy Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3947800 SN - 1556-5068 PB - SSRN - Elsevier CY - Rochester, NY ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wrohlich, Katharina T1 - Reformen bei Elterngeld und Ehegattensplitting könnten gleichstellungspolitische Impulse setzen T1 - Reforms of parental leave benefits and the taxation of married couples could enhance gender equality JF - Wirtschaftsdienst N2 - Germany is characterised by large gender gaps in the labour market. Both the gender pay gap as well as the gender gap in working hours are among the highest in Europe. Family policy reforms such as increasing the parental leave period that is ear-marked for fathers as well as reducing the high marginal tax rates for secondary earners resulting from the joint taxation of married couples with full income splitting (“Ehegattensplitting”) could help to mitigate the existing gender gaps in the labour market. These reforms are also paramount due to the increasing labour scarcity stemming from the demographic change. Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2478/wd-2023-0169 SN - 0043-6275 SN - 1613-978X VL - 103 IS - 9 SP - 600 EP - 602 PB - ZBW CY - Hamburg ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Orland, Andreas A1 - Rostam-Afschar, Davud T1 - Flexible work arrangements and precautionary behavior BT - Theory and experimental evidence JF - Journal of economic behavior & organization N2 - In the past years, work-time in many industries has become more flexible, opening up a new channel for intertemporal substitution: workers might, instead of saving, adjust their work-time to smooth consumption. To study this channel, we set up a two-period consumption/saving model with wage uncertainty. This extends the standard saving model by also allowing a worker to allocate a fixed time budget between two work-shifts. To test the comparative statics implied by these two different channels, we conduct a laboratory experiment. A novel feature of our experiments is that we tie income to a real-effort style task. In four treatments, we turn on and off the two channels for consumption smoothing: saving and time allocation. Our main finding is that savings are strictly positive for at least 85 percent of subjects. We find that a majority of subjects also uses time allocation to smooth consumption and use saving and time shifting as substitutes, though not perfect substitutes. Part of the observed heterogeneity of precautionary behavior can be explained by risk preferences and motivations different from expected utility maximization. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - Precautionary saving KW - Labor supply KW - Intertemporal substitution KW - Experiment Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2021.09.015 SN - 0167-2681 SN - 1879-1751 VL - 191 SP - 442 EP - 481 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Margaryan, Shushanik A1 - Paul, Annemarie A1 - Siedler, Thomas T1 - Does education affect attitudes towards immigration? JF - Journal of human resources N2 - Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel and exploiting the staggered implementation of a compulsory schooling reform in West Germany, this article finds that an additional year of schooling lowers the probability of being very concerned about immigration to Germany by around six percentage points (20 percent). Furthermore, our findings imply significant spillovers from maternal education to immigration attitudes of her offspring. While we find no evidence for returns to education within a range of labor market outcomes, higher social trust appears to be an important mechanism behind our findings. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.56.2.0318-9372R1 SN - 0022-166X SN - 1548-8004 VL - 56 IS - 2 SP - 446 EP - 479 PB - University of Wisconsin Press CY - Madison ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Amann, Erwin A1 - Rzepka, Sylvi T1 - The effect of goal-setting prompts in a blended learning environment BT - evidence from a field experiment JF - Economics of education review N2 - Previous literature has shown that task-based goal-setting and distributed learning is beneficial to university-level course performance. We investigate the effects of making these insights salient to students by sending out goal-setting prompts in a blended learning environment with bi-weekly quizzes. The randomized field experiment in a large mandatory economics course shows promising results: the treated students outperform the control group. They are 18.8% (0.20 SD) more likely to pass the exam and earn 6.7% (0.19 SD) more points on the exam. While we cannot causally disentangle the effects of goal-setting from the prompt sent, we observe that treated students use the online learning platform earlier in the semester and attempt more online exercises compared to the control group. The heterogeneity analysis suggests that higher treatment effects are associated with low performance at the beginning of the course. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2022.102331 SN - 0272-7757 VL - 92 PB - Elsevier Science CY - Amsterdam ER -