Preference-Choice Mismatch and University Dropout

Didier Fouarge and Pascal Heß ()
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Pascal Heß: Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg

No 16215, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Drawing on data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), we show that students who select majors that do not match their occupational preferences prior to enrolling in university are more likely to drop out than those who do choose majors that match their occupational preferences. Our findings suggest that this gap cannot be explained by institutional obstacles to entering a major. Instead, the primary mechanisms behind this phenomenon are indecisiveness and preference changes.

Keywords: dropout; preferences; mismatch; tertiary education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D83 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 45 pages
Date: 2023-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dcm, nep-edu, nep-eur and nep-lma
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Published - pubished in: Labour Economics, 2023, 83, 102405

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Journal Article: Preference-choice mismatch and university dropout (2023)
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