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Geographical constraints and educational attainment

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  • Falch, Torberg
  • Lujala, Päivi
  • Strøm, Bjarne

Abstract

This paper estimates the impact of geographical proximity to upper secondary schools on graduation propensity. It uses detailed information on real travel time between students' homes and schools in Norway and on the composition of study programs at each school. We find that reduced travel time has a positive effect on graduation. The result is robust to a number of specifications, including IV-models and differences-in-differences models. The effect seems to be strongest for students with mediocre prior academic achievement, which suggests that mainly students at the margin of graduation are affected by geographical constraints.

Suggested Citation

  • Falch, Torberg & Lujala, Päivi & Strøm, Bjarne, 2013. "Geographical constraints and educational attainment," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 164-176.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:regeco:v:43:y:2013:i:1:p:164-176
    DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2012.06.007
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    3. George Abuchi Agwu & Oussama Ben Atta, 2021. "University proximity at teenage years and educational attainment," Working Papers hal-03492963, HAL.
    4. Dustan, Andrew & Ngo, Diana K.L., 2018. "Commuting to educational opportunity? School choice effects of mass transit expansion in Mexico City," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 116-133.
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    6. Ooi, Joseph T.L. & Le, Thao T.T., 2013. "The spillover effects of infill developments on local housing prices," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(6), pages 850-861.
    7. Garrouste, Manon & Zaiem, Meryam, 2020. "School supply constraints in track choices: A French study using high school openings," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    8. Kaja Høiseth Brugård, 2013. "Does School Choice Improve Student Performance?," Working Paper Series 14513, Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
    9. Moreno-Monroy, Ana I. & Lovelace, Robin & Ramos, Frederico R., 2018. "Public transport and school location impacts on educational inequalities: Insights from São Paulo," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 110-118.
    10. Kobus, Martijn B.W. & Van Ommeren, Jos N. & Rietveld, Piet, 2015. "Student commute time, university presence and academic achievement," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 129-140.
    11. Brugård, Kaja Høiseth & Falch, Torberg, 2013. "Post-compulsory education and imprisonment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 97-106.
    12. Oussama Ben Atta, 2022. "University proximity at teenage years and educational attainment," French Stata Users' Group Meetings 2022 02, Stata Users Group.
    13. Cattaneo, Andrea & Adukia, Anjali & Brown, David L. & Christiaensen, Luc & Evans, David K. & Haakenstad, Annie & McMenomy, Theresa & Partridge, Mark & Vaz, Sara & Weiss, Daniel J., 2022. "Economic and social development along the urban–rural continuum: New opportunities to inform policy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    14. Carlos Vieira & Isabel Vieira & Luis Raposo, 2018. "Distance and academic performance in higher education," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(1), pages 60-79, January.
    15. Kuhn, Andreas, 2022. "The Geography of Occupational Choice: Empirical Evidence from the Swiss Apprenticeship Market," IZA Discussion Papers 15679, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Giuseppe Bruno & Manuel Cavola & Antonio Diglio & Carmela Piccolo, 2022. "Geographical accessibility to upper secondary education: an Italian regional case study," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 69(2), pages 511-536, October.
    17. Hazans, Mihails & Holmen, Rasmus Bøgh & Upenieks, Jānis & Žabko, Oksana, 2024. "Regional inequalities in access to STEM-oriented secondary education in Latvia," MPRA Paper 120646, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Elad DeMalach, 2023. "Geographic Barriers to Education in Disadvantaged Communities: Evidence from High School Openings in Israeli Arab Localities," Bank of Israel Working Papers 2023.02, Bank of Israel.
    19. Dante Contreras & Daniel Hojman & Manuel Matas & Patricio Rodríguez & Nicolás Suárez, 2018. "The impact of commuting time over educational achievement: A machine learning approach," Working Papers wp472, University of Chile, Department of Economics.
    20. Cong Liao & Teqi Dai, 2022. "Is “Attending Nearby School” Near? An Analysis of Travel-to-School Distances of Primary Students in Beijing Using Smart Card Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-12, April.
    21. Kaja Høiseth Brugård & Torberg Falch, 2012. "Student performance and imprisonment," Working Paper Series 13212, Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
    22. Daqing Zu & Kang Cao & Jian Xu, 2021. "The Impacts of Transportation Sustainability on Higher Education in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-17, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Dropout; Upper secondary school; Geographical constraint; School location;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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