Seminario CEDE - Nicolás González

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This paper examines the impact of productivity signals in academia on posgraduate education and labor market trajectories. I exploit discontinuities in the assignment of Latin honors—magna cum laude, summa cum laude, and cum laude—to compare graduates who receive honors with similarly high-achieving graduates who narrowly miss the distinction. Using a regression discontinuity design, I identify the causal effect of academic signaling on postgraduate investments and subsequent labor market outcomes. Evidence shows that while Latin Honors do not significantly increase the likelihood or intensity of postgraduate education, they lead to substantial improvements in the quality of institutions attended. In the labor market, the effects are concentrated on leadership outcomes and, to a lesser extent, international exposure, with little impact on job stability, firm characteristics, or mobility. These findings highlight that academic distinctions primarily operate by shifting individuals toward higher-quality educational and professional opportunities, supporting a signaling interpretation of academic achievement.