| 1. |
- Borghans, Lex, et al.
(author)
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Default options and training participation
- 2014
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In: Empirical Economics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0377-7332 .- 1435-8921. ; 46:4, s. 1417-1428
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article analyzes whether defaults affect the choice for courses followed at work. In addition, we analyze whether the size of the default effect varies with employees' personality and skill-deficiencies. We perform an experiment in which workers are hypothetically offered three courses which they can accept or exchange for other courses. Randomizing the default package of courses, we identify the default effect. Default courses are chosen approximately three times more often than other courses. They are chosen more often if people have skill-deficiencies in these courses, suggesting that people consider the default to be an advice. Women choose default courses more often than men. Women with less self-confidence and men with lower cognitive skills choose the default courses more often.
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| 2. |
- Borghans, Lex, et al.
(author)
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Does Expert Advice Improve Educational Choice?
- 2015
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 10:12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper reports evidence that an individual meeting with a study counselor at high school significantly improves the quality of choice of tertiary educational field, as self-assessed 18 months after graduation from college. To address endogeneity, we explore the variation in study counseling practices between schools as an instrumental variable (IV). Following careful scrutiny of the validity of the IV, our results indicate a significant and positive influence of study counseling on the quality of educational choice, foremost among males and those with low educated parents. The overall result is stable across a number of robustness checks.
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| 3. |
- Borghans, Lex, et al.
(author)
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Identification problems in personality psychology
- 2011
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In: Personality and Individual Differences. - : Elsevier BV. - 0191-8869 .- 1873-3549. ; 51:3, s. 315-320
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper discusses and illustrates identification problems in personality psychology. The measures usedby psychologists to infer traits are based on behaviors, broadly defined. These behaviors are producedfrom multiple traits interacting with incentives in situations. In general, measures are determined bythese multiple traits and do not identify any particular trait unless incentives and other traits are controlledfor. Using two data sets, we show, that substantial portions of the variance in achievement testscores and grades, which are often used as measures of cognition, are explained by personality variables.
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| 4. |
- Borghans, Lex, et al.
(author)
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Job Mobility in Europe, Japan and the United States
- 2012
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In: British Journal of Industrial Relations. - : Wiley. - 0007-1080 .- 1467-8543. ; 50:3, s. 436-456
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Evidence about job mobility outside the United States is scarce and difficult to compare cross-nationally because of non-uniform data. We document job mobility patterns of college graduates in their first three years in the labour market, using unique uniform data covering 11 European countries and Japan. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we replicate the information in this survey to compare the results with the United States. We find that (a) US graduates hold more jobs than European graduates, (b) contrasting conventional wisdom, job mobility in Japan is only somewhat lower than the European average, and (c) there are large differences in job mobility within Europe.
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| 5. |
- Borghans, Lex, et al.
(author)
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Parental Preferences for Primary School Characteristics
- 2015
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In: The B.E. Journals in Economic Analysis & Policy. - : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 2194-6108 .- 1935-1682. ; 15:1, s. 85-117
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Free school choice has often been argued to be a tide that lifts school quality through increased competition. This paper analyzes the underlying assumption that school quality is an important choice criterion for parents. Using a large and representative data set of over 15,000 Dutch primary school starters, we estimate models of school demand that incorporate heterogeneity in school preferences. Our results show that traditional measures for school quality matter, but other characteristics, such as school denomination and educational philosophy, are more important predictors of choice. Preferences for these school characteristics are strongly heterogeneous across parents.
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| 6. |
- Borghans, Lex, et al.
(author)
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Susceptibility to default training options across the population
- 2015
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In: Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. - : Elsevier BV. - 0167-2681 .- 1879-1751. ; 117, s. 369-379
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper analyzes the tendency of people to choose default options when offered courses to acquire job related skills. We ask a random sample of Dutch people aged 6-80 which three skills are most important in their (future or past) jobs. Further on in the survey, we randomly select one of the skills the respondent indicated and (hypothetically) offer the respondent a course regarding this skill. The respondent can accept this offer, but can also exchange it for a course regarding one of the two other skills indicated. Our findings indicate that people generally have a strong tendency to choose the default option. This effect is similar across gender and education level. It appears that the effect of the default option is less strong around age 30 and declines after age 60.
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| 7. |
- Dohmen, Thomas, et al.
(author)
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RISK ATTITUDES ACROSS THE LIFE COURSE
- 2017
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In: Economic Journal. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0013-0133 .- 1468-0297. ; 127:605, s. F95-F116
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article investigates how risk attitudes change over the life course. We study the age trajectory of risk attitudes all the way from early adulthood until old age, in large representative panel data sets from the Netherlands and Germany. Age patterns are generally difficult to identify separately from cohort or calendar period effects. We achieve identification by replacing calendar period indicators with controls for the specific underlying factors that may change risk attitudes across periods. The main result is that willingness to take risks decreases over the life course, linearly until approximately age 65 after which the slope becomes flatter.
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| 8. |
- Golsteyn, Bart H. H., et al.
(author)
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Adolescent time preferences predict lifetime outcomes
- 2014
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In: Economic Journal. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0013-0133 .- 1468-0297. ; 124:580, s. F739-F761
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study investigates the relationship between time preferences and lifetime social and economic outcomes. We use a Swedish longitudinal data set that links information from a large survey on children's time preferences at age 13 to administrative registers spanning over five decades. Our results indicate a substantial adverse relationship between high discount rates and school performance, health, labour supply and lifetime income. Males and high-ability children gain significantly more from being future oriented. These discrepancies are largest regarding outcomes later in life. We also show that the relationship between time preferences and long-run outcomes operates through early human capital investments.
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| 9. |
- Golsteyn, Bart H. H., et al.
(author)
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Earnings over the Life Course : General versus Vocational Education
- 2017
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In: Journal of Human Capital. - : University of Chicago Press. - 1932-8575 .- 1932-8664. ; 11:2, s. 167-212
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Two common hypotheses regarding the relative benefits of vocational versus general education are (1) that vocational skills enhance relative short-term earnings and (2) that general skills enhance relative long-term earnings. Empirical evidence for these hypotheses has remained limited. Based on Swedish registry data of individuals in short (2-year) upper secondary school programs, this study provides a first exploration of individuals’ earnings across nearly complete careers. The descriptive earnings patterns indicate support for both hypotheses 1 and 2. The support holds when grade point average and family fixed effects are controlled for and also when enrollment in further education and fertility decisions are taken into account.
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| 10. |
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