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The increasing number of students enrolled in higher education institutions and the growing demand in the labour market for university graduates make the analysis of study success and study dropout more and more important. Dropping out from higher education is a complex process and students have very different motives for leaving university without obtaining a degree. We provide a detailed analysis of the different dropout reasons and aim at identifying distinctive types of dropout students using cluster analysis. The most important reasons for leaving university without a degree were in this study observed to be mainly related to interest and expectations concerning study programmes as well as aspects associated with student performance. Using hierarchical cluster analysis, we have found that the dropout decision was based on a variety of reasons, rather than a clear single motive. Our results provide higher education institutions insights into the process of dropping out and thereby a basis for suitable and more specific countermeasures.

In this paper we analyze the effect of outside university work on time to first degree at German universities. The database is the "Absolventenpanel" 2001, a panel study conducted by the "Hochschul-Informations-System". Aiming to estimate the causal effect correctly, we apply a matching strategy based on the approach put forward by Rosenbaum and Rubin [(1983) "The Central Role of Propensity Score in Observational Studies for Causal Effects." "Biometrika" 70: 41-55]. The results of the matching approach reveal that simple prima facie results are upward biased but confirm that off-campus work has a prolonging effect on study duration.

Se investigan las diferencias salariales entre hombres y mujeres graduados universitarios al inicio de la vida activa en todos los percentiles de la distribución salarial. Tales diferencias se descomponen según el modelo de índice único de DiNardo, Fortin y Lemieux (1996) y Fortin y Lemieux (1998), analizando los efectos de la dotación, el precio y la función de rendimiento de competencias. Los salarios iniciales de los varones son más altos en todos los percentiles, con una brecha de magnitud variable. Los efectos de la dotación y el precio son favorables a los hombres. La diferencia en la función de rendimiento de competencias es ventajosa para las graduadas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyse differences between the wage distributions in the USA and Germany in 2001 for both women and men. The empirical analysis is based on the decomposition of differences using Cox's marginal (partial) likelihood. The approach based on rank invariant estimators such as Cox's is borrowed from the literature on failure time data. Donald et al. pioneered this approach in 2000. However, they did not use the full power of the semi-parametric approach. Instead, they argued for using a piecewise constant hazard rate model. We improve on their work by showing that the semi-parametric features of Cox's marginal likelihood are as appropriate for the analysis of wage decompositions and as easy to interpret. Moreover, we extend their approach by allowing for non-linear regression effects. We show empirically that this formulation both increases the flexibility of their approach and improves the discriminatory power between wage regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to analyse the extent and determinants of panel attrition in the European Community Household Panel (ECHP). The fact that, after five waves, in some countries the response rate has declined to about 50%, leads to concerns about the representativeness of the remaining participants. We find the extent and determinants of panel attrition to reveal high variability across countries as well as for different waves within one country. Differences were also found when comparing attrition behaviour across different surveys running parallel in the same countries, as was the case for Germany and the United Kingdom (UK). Response rates are found to depend strongly on whether households moved during the sample period and whether the interviewer in the sample period changed. Compared to these two influences, all other characteristics are of minor importance. Despite these different attrition rates, neither is the analysis of income biased, nor is the ranking of national results disturbed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]