The strong correlation between family socio-economic status and dropping out of high school is well known (e.g., Eckstein and Wolpin, 1999 for the U.S. and Belley, Frenette, and Lochner, 2008 for Canada). In the Canadian data we describe below, teenage boys with two parents who are themselves high school dropouts have a 16% chance of dropping out, compared to a dropout rate of less than 1% for boys whose parents both have a university degree. This cross generational correlation is of interest for two reasons. First, to the extent it reflects higher ability individuals dropping out of high school, it may imply a social efficiency loss. Second, understanding this correlation is important when thinking about redistribution. Our goal in this paper is to provide a better understanding of the source of the socio-economic gradient in dropping out of high school.
There is a rich literature examining the high school dropout decision, particularly for the US. In papers dating back to the 1960s, researchers developed variants of what came to be called the ‘Wisconsin Model’ of educational and occupational attainment (e.g., Sewell, Haller, and Portes, 1969, Alexander, Eckland, and Griffin, 1975 and Haveman, Wolfe, and Spaulding, 1991). A key element of this model was its emphasis on the development of educational aspirations during adolescence and the importance of parents and peers in shaping those aspirations. Parental aspirations for their children were seen to be of particular importance (see for example Davies and Kandel (1981)). Recent work by Attanasio and Kaufmann (2009) also suggests that parental expectations and influences have a non-negligible effect on early education decisions. We provide further evidence that parental aspirations are strongly correlated with dropping out of high school. However, the interpretation of these results is complicated. Parents’ answers to questions about the level of education they ‘hope’ their child will attain could reflect their own valuation of education in general, or an assessment of their child’s own capabilities, or some combination of the two. If they reflect the former, this suggests policy responses targeting how parents or others influence students. If, instead, the answers reflect insider knowledge about a child’s own abilities, then policies should focus on how to generate those abilities in the first place.
Diets come and diets go. Sometimes it seems the only thing that sticks around is the fat. Most of America bases diet choice on the popular media, which is constantly seeking the "next revolution" in dieting to grab the attention of shoppers standing in checkout lines, usually next to the candy and snacks.
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