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Pushed or pulled? Girls and boys facing early school leaving risk in Italy

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  • Borgna, Camilla
  • Struffolino, Emanuela

Abstract

Compared to girls, boys are more at risk of early school leaving. However, it is unclear whether gender differences are driven by push factors, which alienate students from the school system, or pull factors, which attract them out of it. This paper examines gender differences in early school leaving, assessing the role of previous scholastic performance, parental education, and differential employment opportunities. By analyzing two nationally representative datasets, we focus on Italy, a country with high rates of early school leaving and pronounced gender inequalities in the labor market. Our results show that gender effects are partially mediated by scholastic performance, a crucial push factor, and are stronger among low-achieving students, pointing to a higher resilience of girls to academic failure; parental education is highly protective, especially for boys. Yet, boys' higher propensity to drop out is also, at least partly, explained by better employment opportunities in the formal and informal labor market.

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  • Borgna, Camilla & Struffolino, Emanuela, 2017. "Pushed or pulled? Girls and boys facing early school leaving risk in Italy," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 61, pages 298-313.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:216736
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    1. Struffolino, Emanuela, 2019. "Navigating the early career: The social stratification of young workers’ employment trajectories in Italy," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 63, pages 1-17.
    2. Struffolino, Emanuela & Raitano, Michele, 2020. "Early-career complexity before and after labour-market deregulation in Italy: Heterogeneity by gender and socio-economic status across cohorts," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 151(1), pages 231-257.
    3. Adriana Barone & Cristian Barra, 2022. "Gender differences in weight status and early school leaving in Italy," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(3), pages 644-666, June.
    4. Struffolino, Emanuela & Raitano, Michele, 2019. "Did early-career complexity increase after labour market deregulation? Heterogeneity by gender and education across cohorts in Italy," Discussion Papers, Research Group Demography and Inequality SP I 2019-602, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    5. 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.
    6. Bellido, Héctor, 2020. "La transición del sistema educativo al mercado laboral en Europa: Efectos del abandono escolar en la incorporación al trabajo de los jóvenes europeos [The transition from the education system to th," MPRA Paper 103071, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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