School dropout and home connectivity in Argentina: An approach from economics of education (2018–2024)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56219/dialgica.v23i2.5918Keywords:
connectivity, school dropout, high school, economics of educationAbstract
This paper examines the incidence of household internet access on school dropout in Argentine secondary education during the 2018–2024 period. Using a time series built from data drawn from the Permanent Household Survey, the Ministry of Education Statistical Yearbooks, and the Quarterly National Accounts Series, first-difference models are estimated controlling for macroeconomic fluctuations. Results indicate that each additional percentage point of internet penetration is associated with a reduction of 0.10 percentage points in the dropout rate (β = −0.1018; p = 0.010; R² = 0.840), and that the 2020 connectivity shock would have prevented approximately 0.72 pp of additional dropout despite the contraction in output. Findings suggest that private digital infrastructure generates measurable educational externalities, with implications for telecommunications policy as an indirect instrument of school retention.
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