Explaining the SES School Completion Gap

Cain Polidano (), Barbara Hanel () and Hielke Buddelmeyer
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Barbara Hanel: Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne, http://melbourneinstitute.com/staff/bhanel/default.html
Hielke Buddelmeyer: Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Barbara Broadway ()

Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series from Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne

Abstract: Relatively low rates of school completion among students from low socio-economic (SES) backgrounds is a key transmission mechanism for the persistence of intergenerational inequality. Using a rich dataset that links data from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) with data from the Longitudinal Survey of Australian Youth (LSAY), we use a decomposition framework to explain the gap in school completion between low and medium SES and between low and high SES. The two most important factors found to explain the gap are lower educational aspirations of low SES students and their parents (over 30% of the gaps) and lower numeracy and reading test scores at age 15 (over 20% of the gaps). Differences in the characteristics of schools (including resources, governance, teachers and peers) attended by low and higher SES students is estimated to be relatively unimportant, explaining only around 6% of the gaps.

Keywords: School completion; socio-economic status; decomposition and PISA (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I20 J01 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36 pages
Date: 2012-08
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2012n16

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