Encouraged or Discouraged? The Effect of Adverse Macroeconomic Conditions on School Leaving and Reentry

Autor/in	Witteveen, Dirk
Titel	Encouraged or Discouraged? The Effect of Adverse Macroeconomic Conditions on School Leaving and Reentry
Quelle	In: Sociology of Education, 94 (2021) 2, S.103-123 (21 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Witteveen, Dirk)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0038-0407
DOI	10.1177/0038040720960718
Schlagwörter	Dropouts; Reentry Students; Foreign Countries; Enrollment; Labor Market; Macroeconomics; Economic Climate; Cross Cultural Studies; Decision Making; Academic Persistence; Secondary School Students; College Students; Costs; College Attendance; Career Development; Risk; Equal Education; Unemployment; Longitudinal Studies; Sweden; United States; United Kingdom; Germany + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Drop-out; Drop-outs; Dropout; Early leavers; Schulversagen; Zweiter Bildungsweg; Ausland; Einschulung; Labour market; Arbeitsmarkt; Makroökonomie; Wirtschaftslage; Cultural comparison; Kulturvergleich; Decision-making; Entscheidungsfindung; Sekundarschüler; Collegestudent; Cost; Kosten; College; Colleges; Attendance; Hochschule; Fachhochschule; Anwesenheit; Berufsentwicklung; Risiko; Arbeitslosigkeit; Longitudinal study; Longitudinal method; Longitudinal methods; Längsschnittuntersuchung; Schweden; USA; Großbritannien; Deutschland
Abstract	Existing research generally confirms a countercyclical education enrollment, whereby youths seek shelter in the educational system to avoid hardships in the labor market: the "discouraged worker" thesis. Alternatively, the "encouraged worker" thesis predicts that economic downturns steer individuals away from education because of higher opportunity costs. This study provides a formal test of these opposing theories using data from the United States compared with similar sources from the United Kingdom, Germany, and Sweden. I investigate whether macroeconomic stimuli--including recessions and youth unemployment fluctuations--matter for enrollment decisions. Analyses rely on 10 years of detailed individual-level panel data, consisting of birth cohorts across several decades. Across data sources, results show enrollment persistence in secondary education is stronger in response to economic downturns. These patterns differ sharply for tertiary-enrolled students and those who recently left higher education. Surprisingly, U.S. youths display an increased hazard of school leaving and a decreased hazard of educational reenrollment in response to adverse conditions. In contrast, European youths tend to make enrollment decisions supportive of discouraged-worker mechanisms or insensitivity to adverse conditions. The U.S.-specific encouraged-worker mechanism might be explained by the relative importance of market forces in one's early career and the high costs of university attendance, which induces risk aversion with regard to educational investment. The discussion addresses the consequences for educational inequality. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01