In Eastern Europe students complete secondary studies at rates sometimes exceeding rates in the west, in spite of higher overall unemployment. Elsewhere, the chance that a young person will complete high school varies widely from country-to-country and group-to-group. What fuels educational attainment?
Eastern Europe's Low Drop-Out Rates
High-school drop-out rates are quite high in some western countries, particularly Greece, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and yes, Sweden and New Zealand. According to OECD data and data at Allcountries.org, these are significantly higher than in Eastern Europe. Graduation rates in Eastern Europe throughout the post-1993 era have remained at or above 85% (excepting in a few countries in the south), perhaps in part because of communism's legacy – the communist governments focused on providing basic education and labor market preparation to all.
Today in Eastern Europe vocational education continues to be tailored to labor market demands, and, in spite of economic stresses that restrict educational spending, the completion of basic education is a given for most youth, according to Melzig, Petric, and Sprout /US AID (2005). Exceptions are some groups, particularly some of the Roma, who have actually decreased participation in basic education in recent years, whether due to discrimination, cuts in the funding of student textbooks, or the much lower job prospects for Roma today in industry. This was noted by LaPorte and Ringold in 1997 and again by Ringold in 2000.
No Choice but to Stay in School?
Some might argue that Eastern Europeans have no choice but to stay in school: unemployment rates for those with low qualifications in Eastern Europe are sometimes four times higher than unemployment rates for those with high qualifications – 11% to 45% unemployment rates for youth with low qualifications versus 2% to 10% rates for youth with high qualifications, according to a 2001 European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training report.
In contrast, in the United States, the average unemployment rate for dropouts as of 2009, recorded by the Bureau of Labor, was about twice the overall average unemployment rate.
However, Eastern European students are least likely to leave school in countries like the Czech Republic where overall unemployment is low and opportunities for qualified persons high. Literacy is also high in the Czech Republic, with an association between economic opportunities for trained persons, staying in school, and literacy.
In the United States, educational attainment among youth may likewise be low when employment options are few.
The Role of Development in Educational Attainment
Khandker, Lavy, and Filmer's analysis of 1990-91 Morocco living standards survey data suggested that demand-side factors – rural development and the presence of jobs – played a significant role in school attainment in rural Morocco, perhaps a greater role than did supply-side factors, particularly teacher education. Khandkey, Lavy, and Filmer reported an association between job opportunities for literate persons -- such as jobs in utilities companies or agricultural research stations – and school attainment.
Eastern European youth may stay in school not so much because of the lack of jobs for unskilled youth but because of opportunities for skilled youth, and because of a focus in Eastern Europe on providing basic education.