International Mathematics and Science Study (2007-TIMSS), we investigate the determinants and the effect
of being a victim ofschool bullying on educational achievement for Italian students enrolled at the fourth and
eighth grade levels. Firstly, we apply an OLS estimator controlling for a number of individual characteristics
and school fixed effects. Secondly, in order to attenuate the impact of confounding factors, we use propensity
score matching techniques. Our empirical findings based on average treatment effects suggest that being
a victim of school bullying has a considerable negative effect on student performance at both the fourth
and the eighth grade level. Importantly, the adverse effect of bullying on educational achievement is larger
at age 13 than at age 9. Hence, school violence seems to constitute a relevant factor in explaining student
performance. Our findings suggest some possible interventions that Italian policy makers should adopt to
prevent or reduce bullying behaviors