Jesper Fels Birkelund

Long-term labor market returns to upper secondary school track choice: Leveraging idiosyncratic variation in peers’ choices

This study looks at the possible benefits and disadvantages of choosing a vocational rather than an academic track in upper secondary education. While supporters of vocational education and training (VET) … Read more

Educational tracking and personality formation: Evidence from a dual system

Authors: Jesper Fels Birkelund,
Issue: 2022
Themes:

Research on the effects of educational selection has tended to focus on how it affects academic development and achievement. This project asks a different question: does the educational track on … Read more

Lives on track? Long‐term earnings returns to selective school placement in England and Denmark

This paper looks how selective schooling affected the lifetime earnings of people born in the 1950s, and finds it did little to improve earnings or to increase social mobility in … Read more

Upper secondary school tracking, labour market outcomes and intergenerational inequality in Denmark 

This paper is a comprehensive analysis of how secondary school education of Danish children affects their early job and earning prospects. Using administrative data on more than 50,000 children born … Read more

Educational tracking and long-term outcomes by social origin: Seven countries in comparison

This paper uses longitudinal data from seven countries to assess how systems of educational tracking can impact on social mobility. Studies which simply compare comprehensive and tracked systems may be … Read more

Sources of change in the primary and secondary effects of social class origin on educational decisions: evidence from Denmark, 2002–2016

Authors: Jesper Fels Birkelund,
Issue: 2020
Themes: ,

It is well-known that pupils from poorer backgrounds are more likely than their peers to take vocational rather than academic routes in upper secondary school – but what drives this? … Read more

Family Background, Educational Qualifications and Meritocratic Labor Market Allocation: Evidence from Danish Siblings

This paper looks at how education and family background shapes the occupation and earnings of a generation of Danes, and concludes that education plays a powerful role in explaining why … Read more

Aiming High and Missing the Mark? Educational Choice, Dropout Risk, and Achievement in Upper Secondary Education among Children of Immigrants in Denmark

This paper finds that high aspiration among young people from ethnic minority backgrounds can be a double-edged sword: it helps close the gap between these young people and their native-origin … Read more