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Academic Drop-Out and the Great Recession

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  • Effrosyni Adamopoulou
  • Giulia Martina Tanzi

Abstract

We use data on three cohorts of university students in Italy to study how the Great Recession affected their drop-out probability. On the one hand, the deterioration of their families’ financial condition could lead to higher drop-out probability. On the other hand, the lower opportunity cost of tertiary education could translate into stronger incentives to continue studying. We examine these two channels, using the adult and youth unemployment rates and exploiting their variation across regions, genders, and educational levels. We find that, netting out any potential effect on enrollment, the drop-out probability decreased as a result of the Recession.

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  • Effrosyni Adamopoulou & Giulia Martina Tanzi, 2017. "Academic Drop-Out and the Great Recession," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 11(1), pages 35-71.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jhucap:doi:10.1086/690650
    DOI: 10.1086/690650
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    Cited by:

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    2. Marta De Philippis, 2017. "The dynamics of the Italian labour force participation rate: determinants and implications for the employment and unemployment rate," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 396, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    3. Ahn, Kunwon & Lee, Jun Yeong & Winters, John V., 2020. "Employment Opportunities and High School Completion during the COVID-19 Recession," IZA Discussion Papers 13802, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Bradley, Steve & Migali, Giuseppe, 2019. "The effects of the 2006 tuition fee reform and the Great Recession on university student dropout behaviour in the UK," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 331-356.
    5. Francesca Modena & Giulia Martina Tanzi & Enrico Rettore, 2018. "The effect of grants on university drop-out rates: evidence on the Italian case," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1193, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    6. Adamopoulou, Effrosyni & Olivieri, Elisabetta & Triviza, Eleftheria, 2023. "Eating habits, food consumption, and health: The role of early life experiences," ZEW Discussion Papers 23-054, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    7. Murat Demirci & Meltem Poyraz, 2021. "Post-Compulsory Schooling of Youth in Turkey during the Great Recession: A Case of Pro-cyclical Enrollment," Koç University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum Working Papers 2117, Koc University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum.
    8. Francesca Modena & Giulia Martina Tanzi & Santiago Pereda Fernandez, 2020. "On the design of grant assignment rules," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1307, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    9. Iacopo Odoardi, 2020. "Can parents’ education lay the foundation for reducing the inactivity of young people? A regional analysis of Italian NEETs," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 37(1), pages 307-336, April.
    10. Matsuda, Kazushige & Mazur, Karol, 2022. "College education and income contingent loans in equilibrium," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 100-117.
    11. Etienne Dagorn & Léonard Moulin, 2023. "Dropping Out of University in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic," Working Papers 276, French Institute for Demographic Studies.
    12. Tamás Hajdu & Gábor Kertesi & Gábor Kézdi, 2019. "Parental Job Loss, Secondary School Completion and Home Environment," Acta Oeconomica, Akadémiai Kiadó, Hungary, vol. 69(3), pages 393-423, September.
    13. Cuffe, Harold E & Wills, Olivia, 2018. "Opportunity from disaster: Evidence of the Christchurch earthquake’s effects on high schoolers’ post-graduation outcomes," Working Paper Series 7891, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Economics and Finance.
    14. Isphording, Ingo E. & Raabe, Tobias, 2019. "Early Identification of College Dropouts Using Machine-Learning: Conceptual Considerations and an Empirical Example," IZA Research Reports 89, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Giulia Martina Tanzi, 2023. "Scars of Youth Non-employment and Labour Market Conditions," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 9(2), pages 475-499, July.
    16. Lisa Simon, 2018. "Shocking Choice: Trade Shocks, Local Labor Markets and Vocational Occupation Choices," ifo Working Paper Series 281, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    17. Franziska Hampf & Marc Piopiunik & Simon Wiederhold, 2020. "The Effects of Graduating from High School in a Recession: College Investments, Skill Formation, and Labor-Market Outcomes," CESifo Working Paper Series 8252, CESifo.
    18. Cuffe, Harold E & Wills, Olivia, 2018. "Opportunity from disaster: Evidence of the Christchurch earthquake’s effects on high schoolers’ post-graduation outcomes," Working Paper Series 20850, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Economics and Finance.
    19. Bonacini, Luca, 2020. "Unequal effects of the economic cycle on human capital investment. Evidence from Italian panel data," GLO Discussion Paper Series 733, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    20. Aina, Carmen & Baici, Eliana & Casalone, Giorgia & Pastore, Francesco, 2018. "The economics of university dropouts and delayed graduation: a survey," GLO Discussion Paper Series 189, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    21. Aina, Carmen & Baici, Eliana & Casalone, Giorgia & Pastore, Francesco, 2022. "The determinants of university dropout: A review of the socio-economic literature," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    22. Lisa Simon, 2019. "Microeconometric Analyses on Determinants of Individual Labour Market Outcomes," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 83.
    23. Jennifer Graves & Zoë Kuehn, 2022. "Higher education decisions and macroeconomic conditions at age eighteen," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 171-241, May.

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