Working Paper

University Dropout Problems and Solutions

Giuseppe Bertola
CESifo, Munich, 2021

CESifo Working Paper No. 8880

Frequent non-completion in optional education can be e¢ cient if dropouts optimally exercise an option rationally foreseen by previous enrollment choices. This paper shows that in educational opportunities and groups of students where enrollment resolves more pronounced individual uncertainty both enrollment and dropout are higher, with ambiguous degree completion e¤ects, and educational outcomes are unambiguously better in expectation and on average.

CESifo Category
Economics of Education
Keywords: option value, higher education
JEL Classification: I220, I280