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Is the Glass Half Empty or Half Full?: School Enrollment, Graduation, and Dropout Rates in Latin America

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  • Bassi, Marina
  • Busso, Matías
  • Muñoz, Juan Sebastián

Abstract

This paper uses 113 household surveys from 18 Latin American countries to document patterns in secondary school graduation rates over the period 1990-2010. It is found that enrollment and graduation rates increased dramatically during that period, while dropout rates decreased. Two explanations for these patterns are provided. First, countries implemented changes on the supply side to increase access, by increasing the resources allocated to education and designing policies to help students staying in school. At the same time, economic incentives to stay in school changed, since returns to secondary education increased over the 1990s. Despite this progress, graduation rates are low, and there persist remarkable gaps in educational outcomes in terms of gender, income quintiles, and regions within countries. In addition, wage returns have recently stagnated, and the quality of education in the region is low, casting doubts on whether the positive trend is sustainable in the medium term.

Suggested Citation

  • Bassi, Marina & Busso, Matías & Muñoz, Juan Sebastián, 2013. "Is the Glass Half Empty or Half Full?: School Enrollment, Graduation, and Dropout Rates in Latin America," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 4671, Inter-American Development Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:idb:brikps:4671
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    Cited by:

    1. Juan Sebastian Munoz, 2014. "Re-estimating the Gender Gap in Colombian Academic Performance," Research Department Publications IDB-WP-469, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    2. Matias Berthelon & Diana I. Kruger, 2017. "Does adolescent motherhood affect education and labor market outcomes of mothers? A study on young adult women in Chile during 1990–2013," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 62(2), pages 293-303, March.
    3. Bentaouet Kattan,Raja & Székely,Miguel, 2015. "Analyzing the dynamics of school dropout in upper secondary education in Latin America : a cohort approach," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7223, The World Bank.
    4. Matías Berthelon & Diana I. Kruger & Juan P. Eberhard, 2017. "Estimating the effects of teen motherhood in Chile: a family fixed effects approach," Estudios de Economia, University of Chile, Department of Economics, vol. 44(1 Year 20), pages 5-32, June.
    5. Mercedes Mateo Díaz & Lourdes Rodriguez-Chamussy, 2016. "Cashing in on Education," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 25082, December.
    6. Baron,Juan & Popova,Anna & Sanchez Diaz,Angelica Maria, 2016. "Following Mexican youth : a short-run study of time use decisions," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7534, The World Bank.
    7. Székely,Miguel & Karver,Jonathan George, 2015. "Youth out of school and out of work in Latin America : a cohort approach," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7421, The World Bank.
    8. Juan Sebastian Munoz, 2014. "Re-estimating the Gender Gap in Colombian Academic Performance," Research Department Publications IDB-WP-469, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    9. Ferreira Sequeda, Maria, 2020. "The effect of grade retention on secondary school dropout: Evidence from a natural experiment," ROA Research Memorandum 014, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    10. Melissa Adelman & Francisco Haimovich & Andres Ham & Emmanuel Vazquez, 2018. "Predicting school dropout with administrative data: new evidence from Guatemala and Honduras," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(4), pages 356-372, July.
    11. Ferreira Sequeda, Maria, 2020. "The effect of grade retention on secondary school dropout:," Research Memorandum 037, Maastricht University, Graduate School of Business and Economics (GSBE).
    12. Adriana Camacho & Julián Messina & Juan Pablo Uribe, 2017. "The Expansion of Higher Education in Colombia: Bad Students or Bad Programs?," Documentos CEDE 15352, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    13. Adelman,Melissa Ann & Szekely,Miguel, 2016. "School dropout in Central America : an overview of trends, causes, consequences, and promising interventions," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7561, The World Bank.
    14. Leonardo Fabio Morales & Christian Posso & Luz A. Flórez, 2021. "Heterogeneity in the Returns to Tertiary Education for the Disadvantage Youth: Quality vs. Quantity Analysis," Borradores de Economia 1150, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    15. Matias Busso & Dario Romero Fonseca, 2015. "Female Labor Force Participation in Latin America: Patterns and Explanations," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0187, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    16. Mateo-Berganza Díaz, María Mercedes & Rodríguez Chamussy, Lourdes, 2016. "Cashing in on Education: Women, Childcare, and Prosperity in Latin America and the Caribbean," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 8255.
    17. Vinas-Forcade, Jennifer & Mels, Cindy & Valcke, Martin & Derluyn, Ilse, 2019. "Beyond academics: Dropout prevention summer school programs in the transition to secondary education," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 1-1.
    18. Miguel Székely & Pamela Mendoza, 2017. "Declining inequality in Latin America: structural shift or temporary phenomenon?," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(2), pages 204-221, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    IDB-WP-462;

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • O54 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Latin America; Caribbean

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