University dropouts in Italy. Are supply side characteristics part of the problem?

High student dropout rates are a long-standing issue in Italian universities. University dropouts may be explained by supply side characteristics of universities as well as by students’ individual characteristics, but studies of dropouts in Italy have focused on the latter group of characteristics. Our econometric analysis focuses on single universities as units of analysis and employs Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research data covering seven years from 2001 to 2008. Several models were used for estimations: fixed effects vs random effects models, and generalized least squares models corrected for heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation within panels. The results show that some supply side factors have a significant impact on the probability of dropout occurring, especially when considering the organizational aspects of Italian universities. So, for instance, acting on the structure of university courses and reorganizing remote branches might reduce the number of dropouts.