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Can Patience Account for Subnational Differences in Student Achievement? Regional Analysis with Facebook Interests

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  • Eric A. Hanushek
  • Lavinia Kinne
  • Pietro Sancassani
  • Ludger Woessmann

Abstract

Decisions to invest in human capital depend on people’s time preferences. We show that differences in patience are closely related to substantial subnational differences in educational achievement, leading to new perspectives on longstanding within-country disparities. We use social-media data – Facebook interests – to construct novel regional measures of patience within Italy and the United States. Patience is strongly positively associated with student achievement in both countries, accounting for two-thirds of the achievement variation across Italian regions and one-third across U.S. states. Results also hold for six other countries with more limited regional achievement data.

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  • Eric A. Hanushek & Lavinia Kinne & Pietro Sancassani & Ludger Woessmann, 2023. "Can Patience Account for Subnational Differences in Student Achievement? Regional Analysis with Facebook Interests," NBER Working Papers 31690, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31690
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    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General

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