Pedraja-Chaparro, FranciscoSantín González, DanielSimancas, Rosa2023-06-182023-06-182015-06-020161-893810.1016/j.jpolmod.2015.04.004https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/23719In France and Spain, children born in the same calendar year start school together, regardless of maturity differences due to their birth month. This paper analyses the educational impact of birth month on the probability of grade retention controlling by other covariates. Using the PISA 2009 database for both countries, wedo identify a great impact on grade retention since students born in the last months of the year are between 70% and 80% more likely to repeat a grade than children born in the first months of the same year. We conclude that policy interventions are required in those countries to ensure that individuals are not unfairly penalized by their birth month.engjournal articlehttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpolmod.2015.04.004restricted accessC21H52I21Birth monthGrade retentionPISA 2009Impact evaluationEconomics of educationPolítica educativa5902.07 Política Educativa