What Explains the Gender Gap in College Track Dropout? Experimental and Administrative Evidence

• Published in: The American economic review Vol. 106; no. 5; pp. 296 - 302
• Main Authors: Almås, Ingvild, Cappelen, Alexander W., Salvanes, Kjell G., Sørensen, Erik Ø., Tungodden, Bertil
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nashville American Economic Association 01.05.2016
• Subjects: Analysis; Children & youth; Collaboration; Colleges & universities; Dropping out; Economic theory; Economics; Experiments; Gender; Gender differences; GENDER GAPS IN CHILDHOOD: SKILLS, BEHAVIOR, AND LABOR MARKET PREPAREDNESS; Girls; Higher education; Industrialized nations; Labor market; Males; Personal characteristics; School dropouts; Secondary schools; Social background; Students; Studies; Teenagers; Norway
• ISSN: 0002-8282; 1944-7981; 1944-7981
• DOI: 10.1257/aer.p20161075

We exploit a unique data set, combining rich experimental data with high-quality administrative data, to study dropout from the college track in Norway, and why boys are more likely to drop out. The paper provides three main findings. First, we show that family background and personal characteristics contribute to explain dropout. Second, we show that the gender difference in dropout rates appears both when the adolescents select into the college track and after they have started. Third, we show that different processes guide the choices of the boys and the girls of whether to drop out from the college track.