RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Flourish or Fail? The Risky Reward of Elite High School Admission in Mexico City
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 0215-6974R1
DO 10.3368/jhr.52.3.0215-6974R1
A1 Dustan, Andrew
A1 de Janvry, Alain
A1 Sadoulet, Elisabeth
YR 2016
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2016/08/15/jhr.52.3.0215-6974R1.abstract
AB Admission to an elite school imposes substantial risks on many students while offering modest academic benefits relative to admission in their most preferred non-elite 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.