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Article: The declining American high school graduation rate: evidence, sources, and consequences.(Research Summary)
- Article from:
- NBER Reporter
- Article date:
- March 22, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The high school graduation rate is a barometer of the health of American society and the skill level of its future workforce. Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, each new cohort of Americans was more likely to graduate from high school than the preceding one. 1-his upward trend in secondary education increased worker productivity and fueled American economic growth. (1)
In the past 25 years, growing wage differentials between high school graduates and dropouts increased the economic incentives for high school graduation. The real wages of high school dropouts have declined since the early 1970s while those of more skilled workers have risen ...