AGE AT SCHOOL ENTRY, ACCUMULATION OF HUMAN CAPITAL AND EDUCATIONAL GUIDANCE: THE CASE OF FRANCE

This article econometrically evaluates the impact of age at primary school entry on individual human capital accumulation and educational guidance for the French case. We use the natural experiment formed by the variation in the individuals' birth month and by the possibility of late or early entries, allowing for substantial variations in the effective age at school entry at school. We use the 'Training and Occupational Skills' (formation et Qualification professionnelle) surveys and show that age of entry has no impact on indicators of human capital accumulation (years of schooling, level of diploma), but influences the educational guidance (to repeat a year, to pursue vocational education). Regressions conducted on sub-samples of women and men qualify these results.