“The Roma/Non-Roma Test Score Gap in Hungary.” American Economic Review, 101(3): 519–25.


Economists from Central European University and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences have shown that the achievement gap between Roma and non-Roma students is substantial both in reading skills and mathematic reasoning, but it is explained by social disadvantages, and ethnicity plays no additional role.

This is the first  study that estimated the achievement gap between Roma and non-Roma students in Central and Eastern Europe on large and reliable data. The analysis was published in the recent conference volume of  a leading American journal in economics .


Economists from Central European University and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences have shown that the achievement gap between Roma and non-Roma students is substantial both in reading skills and mathematic reasoning, but it is explained by social disadvantages, and ethnicity plays no additional role.

This is the first  study that estimated the achievement gap between Roma and non-Roma students in Central and Eastern Europe on large and reliable data. The analysis was published in the recent conference volume of  a leading American journal in economics . The gap in reading and mathematics test scores among Hungarian 8th graders is close to the achievement gap between African American and White students of the same age group in the United States in the 1980s (the latter has shrunk considerably in the last three decades). The large achievement gap is probably the most important cause  of labor market disadvantages of the Roma minority, and plays an important role in the intergenerational transmission of poverty.
The authors, Gabor Kertesi (Institute of Economics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences) and Gabor Kezdi (Central European University) have also looked for explanations for the large gap. Their results indicate that social disadvantages explain the gap, and ethnicity plays no additional role. The lower achievement of Roma students is due to poverty, low education and labor market disadvantages of the parents, and factors that are results of parental poverty and social disadvantages. The study identifies three main transmission mechanisms. These are (1) inadequate access to cognitively stimulating home environment throughout childhood, (2) adverse birth outcomes and poor health in childhood, and (3) inferior school environment. The analysis was made possible by a dataset that is unique in Europe. It is based on the Life Course („Eletpalya”) Survey of TARKI, financed by the Hungarian government using European structural funds. The survey data  are linked to the comprehensive and standardized test scores from the Hungarian National Assessment of Basic Competences.
The results have clear policy implications. Closing the achievement gap between Roma and non-Roma students requires  alleviating the disadvantages in early childhood environment, health and school environment. International evidence shows that such goals can be achieved by programs that focus on improving the health of pregnant mothers and children, early childhood education programs, and integrated education with high quality standards.


http://aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/aer.101.3.519


http://www.aeaweb.org/aer/data/may2011/P2011_3472_app.pdf