Why do Children Leave the School? Determinants of School Desertion in Public Educational Institutions of Cartagena (in Spanish)

Abstract

This study analyzes the factors associated to the school desertion in the City of Cartagena and two case studies corresponding to the educational institutions San Felipe Neri and Agropecuaria Tecnica La Boquilla. We include variables related to individual, socio-economic, academic and institutional characteristics of the students registered in the official sector as determinants of this situation. The information used was provided by Division de Cobertura Educativa de la Secretaria de Educacion del Distrito de Cartagena, from 2006. For the estimation of the factors a Probit model was used and the coefficients were considered through the maximum probability method. These allow to analyze the marginal effects of independent variables on the incidence in the probability of school desertion. According to the results, academic factors explain in a greater proportion the probability of desertion in the City of Cartagena, which is coherent with the estimates made by the educational institutions.

Keywords: Education Economy, School Desertion, Probit Model, Regional Development

JEL Classification: C13, C35, I21, R38