The degree of equality of opportunities in the educational system is a crucial determinant of the extent of equality of opportunity and of intergenerational mobility achieved by the society as a whole. It is, therefore, of prime policy interest to understand the effects of education policies such as ability tracking, pre-school education, length of the school day and educational spending on the educational success of children from various family backgrounds.This research project intends to contribute to the existing literature in two ways. First, we analyse the determining factors of equal opportunity using international micro data sets for educational systems (TIMSS). A further step will be to analyse the effects of early childhood education as a means to equalise educational outcomes to the benefit of socially underprivileged children.
Schuetz, Gabriela and Ludger Woessmann (with Ursprung Heinrich), "Education Policy and Equality of Opportunity", Kyklos 61 (2), 2008, 279-308 ( Working paper version available as: CESifo Working Paper 1518 (PDF)
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