The importance of rank position

Murphy, Richard and Weinhardt, Felix (2013) The importance of rank position. CEP Discussion Papers (CEPDP1241). London School of Economics and Political Science. Centre for Economic Performance, London, UK.

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Abstract

We find an individual’s rank within their reference group has effects on later objective outcomes. To evaluate the impact of local rank, we use a large administrative dataset tracking over two million students in England from primary through to secondary school. Academic rank within primary school has sizable, robust and significant effects on later achievement in secondary school, conditional on national test scores. Moreover we find boys gain four times more in later test scores from being top compared to girls. We provide evidence for a mechanism using matched survey data, which shows that rank affects an individual’s self-concept. The paper discusses other potential channels but concludes that malleable non-cognitive skills such as confidence and belief in own ability are most likely to generate these results. We put forward a basic model where rank effects costs and effort allocation when faced with multiple tasks. We believe this is the first large-scale study to show large and robust effects of rank position on objective outcomes of that have consequences in the labour market.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	https://cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/publications/discussion...
Additional Information:	© 2013 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Centre for Economic Performance
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
JEL classification:	I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education > I21 - Analysis of Education J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Time Allocation, Work Behavior, and Employment Determination and Creation; Human Capital; Retirement > J24 - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity D - Microeconomics > D0 - General > D01 - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
Date Deposited:	22 Feb 2024 10:27
Last Modified:	22 Feb 2024 10:27
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/121785

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