WRLC Digital Repository  Georgetown University  Digital Collections (GT)  Electronic Theses and Dissertations (GT-ETD)  Public Policy (GT-ETD) 

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1961/4434

Title: Understanding High School Drop-Out Risk in Colombia's Cities: The Impact of Local Market Conditions and Expected Lifetime Earnings
Authors: Sierra, Geovana
Issue Date: 16-Jun-2008
Abstract: This paper explores different factors behind the decision that many young make to quit high school in urban cities in Colombia, examining socioeconomic, individual, and family characteristics as well as local context and future expectation variables. This study finds that youth face a higher risk of dropping out of high school as they get older, and as they decide to start their own families. Family context was found to have a positive influence in those cases where an individuals parents had completed high school, but unsupportive when families were low income or had many children. Local context was also found to play a role in human capital investment decisions. Although only small differences in the expected probability of school attendance were found across cities, environments characterized by high unemployment or crime rates were found to discourage young people from pursuing further education. Finally, lower expectations about future income were also found to significantly reduce the likelihood of attending high school.
URI to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1961/4434
Appears in Collections:Public Policy (GT-ETD)

Files

etd_ga67.pdfthesis627KbAdobe PDF
View/Open

All items in ALADIN Research Commons are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved.