The effects of the democratization of education in France: an empirical study.

Summary This thesis highlights the impact of the massification of education in the 1980s on the rate of return to education in France from 1983 to 2002. In addition, it provides an update on the progress of econometric techniques that have been developed over the last fifty years. We explain why it now seems essential to take into account, in the various formalizations, the implicit and explicit costs of choosing to study and the probability of unemployment which differs according to the years of education. Repetition and the specificity of the French education system are elements that lead us to believe that "years of study" are not representative of the level of individuals and that the explanatory variable "diploma" is more appropriate. Taking these different factors into account, the rate of return on the baccalauréat has fallen significantly over the period and is now negative at around -1%, whereas the rate of return on the post-bac years has converged towards 10%, with the licence still being more profitable than the master's degree. On the other hand, the problem of the downgrading of the general baccalaureate is increasing. The use of surveys that are richer in individual information and information on family background shows that they also condition academic success. The question of whether or not to continue studying was raised. Many students have continued their studies when they should not have done so, and vice versa. Sensitivities and taste for education have a strong impact on this choice but are typically unmeasurable qualitative variables that escape econometrics.