%0 Report
        %A Goulas, Sofoklis
        %T The Short- and Long-Run Impact of Comparative Noncognitive Skills
        %D 2026
        %8 2026 Mar
        %I Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        %C Bonn
        %7 IZA Discussion Paper
        %N 18471
        %U https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp18471
        %X This study documents a new fact about educational production: Students’ relative standing in noncognitive skills has lasting effects distinct from absolute skills and achievement. Using administrative data from Greece and quasi-random classroom assignment, I identify the causal impact of comparative noncognitive skills, measured as grade 10 classroom rank in grade 9 unexcused absences. A worse rank has persistent, nonlinear effects. While it lowers achievement for both genders, boys respond by sorting into more competitive tracks and higher-earning degrees, whereas girls shift toward less competitive paths. Gender differences in comparative noncognitive skills explain 37% of the gap in expected post-college salaries.  Complementary evidence from a survey experiment shows that comparative behavioral labels systematically shift teachers’ expectations and attribution patterns for otherwise identical students. This suggests that relative-standing effects operate through belief-driven institutional responses.
        %K noncognitive skills
%K ordinal rank
%K peer effects
%K STEM
%K gender gap