This paper estimates the causal impact of an upper secondary curriculum reform in Sweden that increased students’ course-taking flexibility in year 2000. In the most popular upper secondary program, it led to a significant decrease in mandatory mathematics requirements. Using administrative Swedish data, we estimate the causal impact of the reform on tertiary education outcomes and expected earnings using a differences-in-discontinuity identification strategy. The method compares students born immediately before and after the cutoff date. The inclusion of students born in neighboring non-reform cutoff years enables us to disentangle the school starting age effect from the unconfounded effect of the reform. We find no negative effects of the reduced mathematics requirements. Rather, we find a positive effect of the reform on students’ probability of enrolling in, and earning a degree from, tertiary education. Our heterogeneity analysis suggests that relatively disadvantaged students were not negatively affected by the reform.

本文估计了瑞典高中课程改革的因果影响，该改革在2000年提高了学生的选课灵活性。在最受欢迎的高中课程中，这导致对强制性数学要求的显着降低。我们使用瑞典的行政数据，使用不连续差异识别策略，估计了改革对高等教育成果和预期收入的因果影响。该方法比较截止日期之前和之后出生的学生。包括在临近的非改革截止年出生的学生，使我们能够将学校的开始年龄效应与改革的无误效果区分开来。我们发现减少的数学要求没有负面影响。而是 我们发现该改革对学生的高等教育入学率和获得学位的机会产生了积极影响。我们的异质性分析表明，相对处境不利的学生没有受到改革的负面影响。