Geographical constraints and educational attainment

This paper estimates the impact of geographical proximity to upper secondary schools on graduation propensity. It uses detailed information on real travel time between students' homes and schools in Norway and on the composition of study programs at each school. We find that reduced travel time has a positive effect on graduation. The result is robust to a number of specifications, including IV-models and differences-in-differences models. The effect seems to be strongest for students with mediocre prior academic achievement, which suggests that mainly students at the margin of graduation are affected by geographical constraints.

► We study whether geographical proximity to upper secondary school affects graduation. ► We find that reduced travel time has a positive effect on graduation. ► The effect is largest for the students at the margin of graduation. ► These results hold for fixed effects, IV, and differences-in-differences models.