research

2024

1. JMP

   Older Schoolmate Spillovers on Higher Education Choices

   Gustave Kenedi, and Nagui Bechichi

   updated frequently, 2024

   Abs PDF

   How do students choose where to apply to higher education? Answering this question is important because the returns to higher education differ greatly across majors and institutions. This paper examines a previously overlooked factor shaping these choices: the high school environment. Specifically, we analyze how students’ applications and enrollments are influenced by the higher education trajectory of recent graduates from their high school. Exploiting random admission cutoffs in France’s centralized admission system, we compare high schools where older schoolmates were marginally admitted versus rejected from specific degrees (subject-institution combination). Our findings reveal significant older schoolmate spillovers: students are 6 percentage points (+19%) more likely to apply to and 2 percentage points (+45%) more likely to enroll in the same degree as a marginally enrolled older schoolmate. These effects are large, corresponding to roughly 45% of spillovers across siblings estimated in other countries. We find both teacher influence and homophily/role model effects mediate these cross-cohort spillovers. Lastly, we quantify the extent to which exposure to high-achieving older schoolmates affects the socioeconomic gap in applications to very selective degrees and find that equalizing this exposure would narrow the gap by around 10%. These results demonstrate how inequalities in higher education can be perpetuated or mitigated through high school peer networks.

2023

1. JPubE

   Intergenerational Income Mobility in France: A Comparative and Geographic Analysis

   (previously "The Anatomy of Intergenerational Income Mobility in France and its Spatial Variations")

   Gustave Kenedi, and Louis Sirugue

   Journal of Public Economics, 2023

   Abs journal PDF Code Brief (FR) Brief (EN) VoxEU

   We provide new estimates of intergenerational income mobility in France for children born in the 1970s using rich administrative data. Since parents’ incomes are not observed, we employ a two-sample two-stage least squares estimation. We show, using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, that this method yields reasonably conservative estimates of (rank-based) intergenerational persistence measures relative to what would be obtained if parent income were observed. Our results suggest France is characterized by a strong persistence relative to other developed countries. 9.7% of children born to parents in the bottom 20% reach the top 20% in adulthood, four times less than children from the top 20%. We uncover substantial spatial variations in intergenerational mobility across departments, comparable to those observed across countries. We find that the upward mobility gains from geographic mobility are slightly decreasing in parent income and increasing in the income level of the destination department. The expected income rank of individuals from the bottom of the parent income distribution who moved towards high-income departments is around the same as the expected income rank of individuals from the 75th percentile who stayed in their childhood department.

2024

1. Rj&R

   Beyond the Enrolment Gap: Financial Barriers and High-Achieving, Low-Income Students’ Persistence in Higher Education

   (previously "The Impact of Financial Aid on High-Achieving, Low-Income Students: Evidence from France")

   Gustave Kenedi

   Reject and Resubmit at Journal of Human Resources, 2024

   Abs latest version

   Little is known about what influences high-achieving, low-income students’ persistence in higher education, despite extensive work on their enrolment decision. This paper investigates the role of credit constraints. Using exhaustive administrative data for France, I estimate the impact of automatically granting generous additional aid to enrolled high-achieving, low-income students. Eligibility is communicated too late to affect initial enrolment, allowing me to recover the pure effect on the intensive margin. I find this aid had precisely estimated null effects on persistence, graduation, and did not induce switches to higher quality degrees. This suggests high-achieving students may be less sensitive to financial aid than their lower performing peers.

2024

1. in progress

   Higher Education Mismatch: Causes and Consequences

   Gustave Kenedi

   2024
2. in progress

   Austerity and Student Achievement

   Francesca Foliano, Gustave Kenedi, Sandra McNally, and Olmo Silva

   2024
3. in progress

   Spillover Effects of School Competition: Evidence from England’s Academies

   Francesca Foliano, Gustave Kenedi, Sandra McNally, and Olmo Silva

   2024
4. in progress

   Understanding the Role of Personal Statements in Elite University Admissions

   Oliver Cassagneau-Francis, Gustave Kenedi, and Gill Wyness

   2024

2020

1. France Stratégie

   Quelle influence du lieu d’origine sur le niveau de vie ?

   Clément Dherbécourt, and Gustave Kenedi

   2020

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2019

1. OECD

   Occupational mobility, skills and training needs

   Nagui Bechichi, Stéphanie Jamet, Gustave Kenedi, Robert Grundke, and Mariagrazia Squicciarini

   2019

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   This work investigates how education and training policies may facilitate occupational transitions. It proposes a methodology to estimate cognitive and task-based skill distances across occupation. It identifies the occupational transitions that can occur upon small (of up to 6 months), moderate (up to 1 year) or important (up to 3 years) (re)training spells. “Possible” transitions, i.e. transitions implying reasonable upskilling needs and similar knowledge areas, are distinguished from “acceptable” occupations, i.e. possible transitions entailing limited loss of human capital and income, if any. Possible and acceptable transitions exist for the quasi-totality of occupations, when up to one year of training is considered. Low-skilled occupations display fewer acceptable transitions and generally require higher cognitive or task-based skills. Transitions for many high-skilled occupations entail important wage decreases or skills excesses. Acceptable transitions for occupations at high-risk of automation are harder to find, and tend to require cognitive and task-based skills-related training.

2. OECD

   OECD Skills Outlook 2019: Thriving in a Digital World

   Nagui Bechichi, Stéphanie Jamet, Gustave Kenedi, and Andreea Minea-Pic

   2019

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2018

1. pre-PhD

   Does educational expertise matter for PVCs education? A UK study of PVCs’ educational background and skills

   Gustave Kenedi, and Anna Mountford-Zimdars

   Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 2018

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   Pro-Vice-Chancellors (PVCs) form the second-tier leadership of UK higher education institutions. However, their role and position remain under-theorised and under-researched. The present article explores the extent to which a PVC Education role requires core expertise in education or generic managerial skills. Using a mixed-methods approach, we first establish the disciplinary backgrounds of PVCs Education in Russell Group (RG) and post-1992 institutions. Fewer than one in five PVCs Education have a disciplinary background or additional formal training in education. Second, we conducted 24 semi-structured interviews with PVCs Education, Heads of Education Departments and Heads of Learning and Teaching units. These interviews suggest the PVC Education role requires managerial skills, usually acquired in previous headships, as well as academic credibility and knowledge of institutional processes rather than particular expertise in education. In sum, generic managerial skills rather than educational expertise are paramount for understanding the profile of PVCs Education in UK universities.