More often than in previous generations, individuals with low education tend to participate less than their peers in social institutions. They are less likely to enter a partnership and have children, participate less in labour market activities, and frequently end up with worse physical and mental health than others. A few, crucial moments in educational trajectories may determine whether these individuals set off on conducive educational pathways that define later life outcomes. These moments are often found during educational transitions, which often invoke changes in roles, status, and identity, both personally and socially.
This project aims to understand the effects of transitions in the educational system on later labour market participation, family formation and health. The project will consider how starting school at a suitable age, attending an upper secondary school of choice, and managing to complete upper secondary education affect later social participation and health. We will furthermore study how the relationship between completing upper secondary education, social participation, and health has changed over time, how these time trends differ by gender and socioeconomic background, and driving forces behind these trends.
Credible natural experiments will be applied to disentangle selection into later-life outcomes from causal impacts of sub-optimal transitions. The experiments include being born before or after new year, whether a school psychology office is established in the municipality to provide advice on school start, being above vs. below a grade point threshold for entry into an upper secondary school, the introduction of new upper secondary admissions systems, passing or failing on a particular exam, and applying for apprenticeship or vocational-academic transfer at a time with varying supply.
