PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jaegeum Lim
AU  - Jonathan Meer
TI  - Persistent Effects of Teacher–Student Gender Matches
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.55.3.0218-9314R4
DP  - 2020 Jul 01
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 809--835
VI  - 55
IP  - 3
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/55/3/809.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/55/3/809.full
SO  - J Hum Resour2020 Jul 01; 55
AB  - Many existing studies find that females perform better when they are taught by female teachers. However, there is little evidence on what the long-run impacts may be and through what mechanisms these impacts may emerge. We exploit panel data from middle schools in Seoul, South Korea, where students and teachers are randomly assigned to classrooms. We replicate the existing literature that examines contemporaneous effects and find that female students taught by a female versus a male teacher score higher on standardized tests compared to male students even five years later. We also find that having a female math teacher in seventh grade increases the likelihood that female students attend a STEM-focused high school, take higher-level math courses, and aspire to a STEM degree. These effects are driven by changes in students’ attitudes and choices.