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Which Factors Determine the Grades of Undergraduate Students in Economics? Some Evidence from Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Dolado, Juan J.

    (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid)

  • Morales, Eduardo

    (Harvard University)

Abstract

This paper analyses the determinants of grades achieved in three core subjects by first-year Economics undergraduate students at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, over the period 2001-2005. Gender, nationality, type of school, specialization track at high school and the grades at the university entry exam are the key factors we examine. Our main findings are that those students who did a technical track at high school tend to do better in mathematics than those who followed a social sciences degree and, that the latter do not perform significantly better than the former in subjects with less degree of formalism and more economic content. Moreover, students from public schools are predominant in the lower (with social sciences or humanities tracks) and upper (with a technical track) parts of the grade distribution, and females tend to perform better than males.

Suggested Citation

  • Dolado, Juan J. & Morales, Eduardo, 2006. "Which Factors Determine the Grades of Undergraduate Students in Economics? Some Evidence from Spain," IZA Discussion Papers 2491, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2491
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anne Case & Angus Deaton, 1999. "School Inputs and Educational Outcomes in South Africa," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(3), pages 1047-1084.
    2. Jesse Levin, 2001. "For whom the reductions count: A quantile regression analysis of class size and peer effects on scholastic achievement," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 221-246.
    3. Eide, Eric & Showalter, Mark H., 1998. "The effect of school quality on student performance: A quantile regression approach," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(3), pages 345-350, March.
    4. Hanushek, Eric A, 1995. "Interpreting Recent Research on Schooling in Developing Countries," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 10(2), pages 227-246, August.
    5. Koenker, Roger W & Bassett, Gilbert, Jr, 1978. "Regression Quantiles," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 46(1), pages 33-50, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lorenzo Cappellari & Claudio Lucifora & Dario Pozzoli, 2012. "Determinants of grades in maths for students in economics," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 1-17, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    multinomial logit; gender; school type; grade achievement; quantile regressions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I29 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Other

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