Juliana Bernhofer (European Commission, JRC)
Andrea Barigazzi and Giovanni Gallo
This study investigates the potential contribution of university professors' geographic origins on biases in student grading. Utilizing a comprehensive dataset from an Italian university spanning from 2016 to 2023, we examine whether a sense of local identity among professors affects their evaluation decisions, particularly towards students whose surnames are commonly associated with the local area. The findings reveal a statistically significant positive bias in favor of students with common local surnames, particularly pronounced among professors who themselves originate from the same geographic region. This bias decreases with increasing geographic distance, highlighting how regional identity can subtly play a role in academic evaluations.