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THE ROLE OF EXPECTATIONS IN ADOLESCENT SCHOOLING CHOICES: DO YOUTHS RESPOND TO ECONOMIC INCENTIVES?
Author(s) -
WILSON KATHRYN,
WOLFE BARBARA,
HAVEMAN ROBERT
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
economic inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1465-7295
pISSN - 0095-2583
DOI - 10.1093/ei/cbi032
Subject(s) - incentive , economics , set (abstract data type) , school choice , perception , microeconomics , public economics , psychology , market economy , neuroscience , computer science , programming language
We address the role of youths' own choice‐conditioned expectations in understanding their schooling choices by constructing a choice (or “switching”) model. We emphasize the effect of individual student perceptions regarding the returns associated with graduating from high school versus dropping out, while controlling for an extensive set of family and community factors. We find that youths' expected income returns to graduating from high school are influential in their schooling choices, even when an extensive set of background, economic, family, and neighborhood variables, designed to capture the effects of parental and governmental decisions, is introduced into the analysis. (JEL I20 , J24 )