PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Andrew Dustan
AU  - Alain de Janvry
AU  - Elisabeth Sadoulet
TI  - Flourish or Fail?
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.52.3.0215-6974R1
DP  - 2017 Jul 01
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 756--799
VI  - 52
IP  - 3
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/52/3/756.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/52/3/756.full
SO  - J Hum Resour2017 Jul 01; 52
AB  - Admission to an elite school imposes substantial risks on many students while offering modest academic benefits relative to admission in their most preferred nonelite school. Using variation in school assignment generated by the allocation mechanism, we find that admission to a system of elite public high schools in Mexico City increases the probability of high school dropout by 9.4 percentage points. Students with weaker middle school grades and whose commutes are lengthened by elite admission experience a larger rise in dropout probability. On the other hand, elite admission raises end-of-high-school math test scores for the marginal admittee, even when accounting for potential bias due to admission-induced dropout.