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Selection and Educational Attainment: Why Some Children Are Left Behind? Evidence from a Middle-Income Country

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  • Méndez-Errico, Luciana

    (Universidad de la República de Uruguay)

  • Ramos, Xavier

    (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Abstract

We model schooling as a sequential process and examine why some children are left behind. We focus on the factors that explain selection at early stages of the education system. Our findings for Uruguay suggest that long-term factors, such as parental background or ethnicity matter across all education stages while the effect of short-term factors, such as family income, wear out as individuals progress in the education system, suggesting a severe selection process at early stages.

Suggested Citation

  • Méndez-Errico, Luciana & Ramos, Xavier, 2019. "Selection and Educational Attainment: Why Some Children Are Left Behind? Evidence from a Middle-Income Country," IZA Discussion Papers 12118, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12118
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    cognitive and non-cognitive abilities; ethnicity; education; inequality; selection; schooling transition; sequential dynamic model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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