All Geared Towards Success? Cultural Origins of Gender Gaps in Student Achievement∗

53 Pages Posted: 9 Feb 2022

See all articles by Helena Holmlund

Helena Holmlund

IFAU - Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation

Helmut Rainer

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute) - Ifo Institute

Patrick Reich

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Abstract

Although geographical and temporal variations in gender achievement gaps have received considerable attention, the role of culture in explaining this variation is not well understood. We exploit a large Swedish administrative data set to study gender gaps in education among second-generation immigrant youth with different cultural backgrounds. Guided by hypotheses we derive from the economics literature on gender differences and gender convergence, we explore the predictive power of a set of cultural dimensions including achievement orientation, acceptance of inequality, risk avoidance, and long-term orientation. Using a variety of empirical tests that refine the classical epidemiological approach, we find that the central cultural dimension that matters for gender gaps in student achievement is the extent to which a society emphasizes ambition, competition, and achievement, which is strongly predictive of a relative achievement disadvantage of girls compared with boys. Exploring factors that may explain the results, we find that parents from achievement-oriented cultures choose higher quality schools for their children, and that boys benefit more from exposure to higher quality schools than girls do. Using PISA data to probe external validity, we find qualitatively and quantitatively remarkably similar results in a very different sample of second-generation immigrant youth.

Keywords: Culture, Achievement Orientation, Gender Gaps in Education

Suggested Citation

Holmlund, Helena and Rainer, Helmut and Reich, Patrick, All Geared Towards Success? Cultural Origins of Gender Gaps in Student Achievement∗. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4030426 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4030426

Helena Holmlund

IFAU - Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation ( email )

Box 513
751 20 Uppsala
Sweden

Helmut Rainer (Contact Author)

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute) - Ifo Institute ( email )

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, 01069
Germany

Patrick Reich

affiliation not provided to SSRN

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