Age at Pubertal Onset and Educational Outcomes

Abstract:     
Education has important short and long run implications for individual outcomes. In this paper we explore the association between age at pubertal onset and educational outcomes in a sample of Swedish girls. Previous research suggests that girls that mature earlier perform worse in school compared to girls that mature later. To test if this is also true among Swedish girls, we investigate the association between pubertal development and grades, educational aspirations and educational choice. We also investigate whether changes in risk attitudes, time preferences and priorities concerning school versus friends mediate this potential correlation. We confirm that earlier maturing girls have lower grades and lower educational aspirations, but find that they make educational choices similar to those of later maturing girls. Furthermore, we do not find that these differences in grades and aspirations are mediated by risk attitudes, time preferences or priorities.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 24

Keywords: educational outcomes, puberty, pubertal timing, grades

JEL Classification: I00, J10, J16

working papers series