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In this paper we evaluate the impact of a major school reform, that took place in the 1950s in Sweden, on educational attainment and earnings. The reform, which has many common elements with reforms in other European countries including the UK, consisted of increasing compulsor schooling, imposing a national curriculum and abolishing selectionby ability into Academic and non-academic streams at the age of 12 (comprehensive school reform). Our data combines survey data with administrative sources. We find that the reform increased both the educational attainment and the earnings of children whose fathers had just complusory education. However the earnings of those with educated parents declined - possibly because of a dilution of quality at the top end of the education levels. The overall effect of the reform was however positive.
Authors
Research Fellow Yale University
Costas is a Research Fellow of the IFS and a Professor of Economics at Yale University and a Visiting Professor at University College London.
Research Fellow University of Stockholm
Mårten is a Research Fellow at the IFS and Associate Professor at Stockholm University, previously at the Stockholm School of Economics.
Working Paper details
- DOI
- 10.1920/wp.ifs.2004.0410
- Publisher
- IFS
Suggested citation
Meghir, C and Palme, M. (2004). Educational reform, ability and family background. London: IFS. Available at: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/educational-reform-ability-and-family-background (accessed: 30 June 2024).
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