What Explains the Gender Gap in College Track Dropout? Experimental and Administrative Evidence
American Economic Review
vol. 106,
no. 5, May 2016
(pp. 296-302)
Abstract
We exploit a unique data set, combining rich experimental data with high-quality administrative data, to study dropout from the college track in Norway, and why boys are more likely to drop out. The paper provides three main findings. First, we show that family background and personal characteristics contribute to explain dropout. Second, we show that the gender difference in dropout rates appears both when the adolescents select into the college track and after they have started. Third, we show that different processes guide the choices of the boys and the girls of whether to drop out from the college track.Citation
Almås, Ingvild, Alexander W. Cappelen, Kjell G. Salvanes, Erik Ø. Sørensen, and Bertil Tungodden. 2016. "What Explains the Gender Gap in College Track Dropout? Experimental and Administrative Evidence." American Economic Review, 106 (5): 296-302. DOI: 10.1257/aer.p20161075Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I23 Higher Education; Research Institutions
- J12 Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination