Date

2016

Document Type

Paper

Department

School of Business

Faculty Advisor

Nate Peach

Abstract

This study aims to analyze potential factors causing low high school graduation rates in the state of Oregon. We developed an econometric model measuring six independent variables: violent crime rates; income per family, the percentage of the population that is Hispanic, the percentage of family households with only one parent, alcohol use in adults, and teen pregnancy. Our dependent variable was measured as the percentage of the population between 18 and 24 without a high school diploma. From our results we found two of our variables to be economically significant: family structure and alcohol. However, the coefficient for alcohol suggested that higher rates of binge drinking in adults lead to higher graduation rates, which contradicts expectations. This outcome is addressed within the paper. Overall, this study suggests that family structure has the largest and clearest impact on graduation rates in Oregon, out of the variables included in our model.

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