Delayed school entry increases internal locus of control

Horn, Dániel and Kiss, Hubert János and Szabó-Morvai, Ágnes (2026) Delayed school entry increases internal locus of control. JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC BEHAVIOR & ORGANIZATION, 241. No. 107317. ISSN 0167-2681 (In Press)

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Abstract

Internal locus of control (LoC) is positively associated with numerous life outcomes, yet our understanding of how to enhance it remains limited. Leveraging statutory school enrollment cutoff dates as a source of plausibly exogenous variation, we provide the first causal evidence that delayed school entry increases internal LoC. Specifically, we estimate a policy effect of approximately 0.08 standard deviation among 8th-grade students, corresponding to an approximately 0.15 standard deviations effect among compliers. While these effects are likely relative rather than absolute, we find that the impact is significantly larger among children from financially distressed families. These heterogeneous effects highlight the potential for delayed school entry to strengthen internal LoC, particularly for students from lower-income backgrounds, though trade-offs such as increased childcare costs and delayed workforce entry should be considered.

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