Rationality, socioeconomic stratum, and educational lag in Mexico

Objective: Educational lag (EL) affects human capital and significantly limits economic growth and development. Methodology: Using a cloglog model, we prove the theoretical hypothesis that individuals’ rationality differs across socioeconomic strata: while individuals from lower strata are more likely to experience EL (4.3%), the opposite occurs for higher strata individual (-15.5%). Results: We also found that, in the absence of any other variables, the probability of EL is as high as 20%; having children 24.3% (the highest in the model); and being male increases it by 9%. Limitations: This work focuses on the factors that “pull” students away from formal educational institutions and the model only includes data from 2018. Main findings: With scenario analysis, we demonstrate that a male from lower socioeconomic stratum, without access to healthcare and with children, faces 61% probability of EL, contrary to 37% for males with the same characteristics in the upper stratum.