The Economic Determinants of Truancy

48 Pages Posted: 14 Jul 2008

See all articles by Karen Gardiner

Karen Gardiner

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Carol Propper

Imperial College London Business School; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); University of Bristol - Leverhulme Centre for Market and Public Organisation (CMPO)

Date Written: September 2002

Abstract

Truancy is often seen as irrational behaviour on the part of school age youth. This paper takes the opposite view and models truancy as the solution to a time allocation problem in which youths derive current returns from activities that reduce time spent at school. The model is estimated using a US panel dataset, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, and the estimation allows for the possible endogeneity of returns from these competing activities. The results show that truancy is a function of the estimated economic returns from work, crime and school.

Suggested Citation

Gardiner, Karen and Propper, Carol, The Economic Determinants of Truancy (September 2002). LSE STICERD Research Paper No. CASE061, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1158952

Karen Gardiner

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Carol Propper

Imperial College London Business School ( email )

South Kensington Campus
Exhibition Road
London SW7 2AZ, SW7 2AZ
United Kingdom

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

University of Bristol - Leverhulme Centre for Market and Public Organisation (CMPO) ( email )

12 Priory Road
Bristol BS8 1TN
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Economics/department/profiles/propper.htm