Micro-level determinants of lecture attendance and additional study-hours

This paper uses novel measures of individual differences that produce new insights about student
inputs into the (higher) education production function. The inputs examined are lecture attendance and
additional study-hours. The data were collected through a web-survey that the authors designed. The
analysis includes the following measures: willingness to take risks, consideration of future consequences
and non-cognitive ability traits. Besides age, gender and year of study, the main determinants of lecture
attendance and additional study-hours are attitude to risk, future-orientation and conscientiousness. In
addition, future-orientation, and in particular conscientiousness, determine lecture attendance to a
greater extent than they determine additional study. Finally, we show that family income and financial
transfers (from both parents and the state) do not determine any educational input. This study suggests
that non-cognitive abilities may be more important than financial constraints in the determination of
inputs related to educational production functions.