Christian Belzil, professor at Paris Polytechnic Institute and ENSAE, CIRANO researcher and Fellow presented the highlights of the CIRANO report « High School Dropouts in Québec: Results and policy simulation ». This report was co-authored by Arezoo Banihashem, Department of Economics at Concordia University and CIRANO, Jörgen Hansen, Full Professor in the Department of Economics at Concordia University and CIRANO researcher.

In this report, the researchers analyze the labour market outcomes of high school dropouts in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia and compare them to those who have graduated from high school. Their econometric model helps explain why the proportion of young men without a high school diploma is substantially higher in Quebec than elsewhere in Canada and clarifies the importance of the disincentive effect of social assistance in Quebec.