There is increasing attention on the retention of international students, with many stakeholders desiring to keep international students for long-term economic growth. This study examined the factors affecting international students choosing to stay in Finland 5 years after initial enrollment, with particular focus on the role graduation plays in…

This paper examines the impact of a reform aimed at expediting graduation times in Italian universities by reducing the number of exams students must pass to obtain a fixed number of credits. Using event-study estimates that leverage the reform's staggered implementation, we find that this policy change led to an increase in on-time graduation…

The paper studies a unique education reform that decreased the length of secondary-level vocational education from 4 to 3 years, reducing the time spent on general subjects while keeping the time spent on vocational training. We use a difference-in-difference strategy by comparing reformed schools with early adopters before and after the reform.…

Between 2001 and 2005, higher education in Italy went through a considerable process of reform according to the "Bologna Process." This paper evaluates the effects of this process on the academic performance of students. We estimate the difference in graduation probability between students who switched from pre-reform university courses…

In this dissertation, I examine various factors shaping students' trajectories and opportunities later in life. In Chapter 1, I explore the role of grade retention policies. Grade retention as a remedial policy is controversial because the benefits of extra instruction time may not outweigh its costs. Previous research has primarily examined…

In this paper, we estimate the effect of receiving financial aid for a cohort of students who enrolled at Politecnico di Milano (Italy) in the year 2007/2008, through a propensity score matching approach. Using administrative data about these students for four years, the impact of the financial aid on several dimensions of academic performance was…

In this dissertation, I use data from Chile to study the determinants of schooling trajectories. Chapters 1 and 2 focus on higher education, Chapter 3 on secondary education, and Chapter 4 on teachers. Chapter 1 explores the role of a socio-emotional ability, self-efficacy, in understanding why students with comparable qualifications transit…

Contrary to the overall tendency to increase student participation in the financing of higher education, Estonia abolished student tuition fees in 2013. We study the effects of this reform on the students' access to and progress in higher education, concentrating mostly on the changes in probabilities of rural and remote students being admitted…

This study examines whether providing students with information on their future study success will influence their higher education enrollment decision and lower first-year dropout as a consequence. A randomized field experiment is conducted among 313 law and social science applicants at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The main results suggest…

This dissertation focuses on microeconomic topics in the fields of public, labor and education. Particularly, this dissertation evaluates state policies in higher education and develops a global measure for job quality. Chapter 1 studies how state merit aid programs affect undergraduate degrees earned in Science, Technology, Engineering and…

A growing body of evidence suggests that vocationally focused programs of study substantially improve high-school completion and longer-run economic success. However, the corresponding recommendations to expand vocational programs may have unintended, negative consequences for low-income, academically successful students (i.e., the "missing…

Studies of psychological distress (PD) in university students have shown that they have high prevalence rates. These findings have raised concerns that PD may be leading to poorer student outcomes, such as elevated dropout rates. The aim of this study was to examine the association of PD in undergraduate university students with the competing…

This paper examines the effect of the introduction of an academic dismissal (AD) policy (i.e. an intervention, which can lead to compulsory student withdrawal) on student dropout, student graduation rates and satisfaction with the study program. Using a difference-in-differences type of estimator, we compare programs that introduced an AD policy…

This paper estimates the treatment effect of grade repetitions in French junior high schools, using a value-added test score as outcome and quarter of birth as instrument. With linear two-stage least squares, local average treatment effect is estimated at around 1.6 times the standard deviation of the achievement gain. With non-linear…

Increasing postsecondary enrolments, reducing university drop-outs, while, simultaneously, boosting graduation rates, is a worldwide dilemma, currently challenging any university and any educational system. One of the most pressing issues facing universities, however, is the number of students, who fail to graduate. The literature survey on gender…