“The Economic Benefits from Halving the Dropout Rate: A Boom to Businesses in the Nation’s Largest Metropolitan Areas”
The study estimates the city-by-city growth in local economic factors -- including earnings, employment, home ownership, auto sales and tax revenue -- that would result from cutting the high-school dropout rate in half.
In the nation’s 50 largest cities and the 45 metropolitan areas that surround them, an estimated 600,000 students dropped out of the graduating class of 2008. The report includes detailed findings for each of the 45 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. Nationally, results suggest that halving the dropout rate would include the creation of 30,000 additional jobs, a $4.1 billion increase in combined additional earnings and a $536 million increase in tax revenue.
The study was released by the Alliance for Excellent Education, a policy, research and advocacy organization that works to increase high school graduation rates and college readineses.
