New publication on the timing of school entry and personality traits in adulthood

Anton Barabasch, Kamila Cygan-Rehm, and Andreas Leibing, from the Chair for Quantitative Methods, esp. Econometrics has published a new study in the European Economic Review that examines the long-term consequences of later school entry on personality traits.

Their study exploits the statutory cutoff rules for school enrollment in Germany within a regression discontinuity design for identification. They find that relatively older school starters have persistently lower levels of neuroticism in adulthood. This effect is entirely driven by women, which has important implications for gender gaps in the labor market, as women typically score significantly higher on neuroticism at all stages of life, which puts them at a disadvantage. The results suggest that family decisions regarding compliance with enrollment cutoffs may have lasting implications for gender gaps in socio-emotional skills.

Source: Barabasch, A., Cygan-Rehm, K., & Leibing, A. (2026). Timing of school entry and personality traits in adulthood. European Economic Review, 105236. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2025.105236