Understanding the economic and sociodemographic determinants of early school leaving : a configurational approach

Abstract

Education is at the heart of any nation’s social and economic development and certainly within the specific scope of the European Union’s strategic development. As a result, early school leaving is a subject of inexorable importance because its effect reverberates in other social and economic realities. This paper examines the macroeconomic and socioeconomic determinants of ESL by adopting a multi-analytical strategy involving a linear regression method and a configurational approach. The outcomes highlight the complexity of ESL involving nonlinearity, equifinality, and asymmetric relations. Inequality and parental education emerge as key determinants of ESL; these relationships are more robust compared to the other determinants, namely Gross Domestic Product per capita, youth unemployment, and parental job status. The practical and theoretical aspects of these outcomes are explained throughout the discussion.