Alicia is a college sophomore studying drama at her local community college in texas. halfway through the school year, alicia is offered a job in hollywood as an actress on a soap opera which will pay her $72,800 per year. douglas is a college sophomore studying sociology at alicia's college. douglas does not have any work experience, and he would earn $18,000 per year if he were to quit school and get a full-time job. if we assume that douglas and alicia only have a choice of either staying in school or dropping out and working full time, an economist would most likely predict that is more likely to drop out of school this year because

The answer is: Alicia is more likely to drop out of school because its on her best interest to start working on the right place as soon as possible.

Explanation:

First of all, besides the huge difference in salaries, $72,800 (Alicia) to $18,000 (Douglas), we have to consider other aspects of their professions:

Alicia doesn´t need a college degree to work in her profession (actress), while Douglas is required a college degree to work as a psychologist. In an extremely competitive professional market like actresses, the window of opportunity for someone new entering the business is not that long. Most of the actors and actresses start very young (as kids) and the older they get the harder it is for them to start or continue the profession. That doesn´t apply to psychologists. When you consider the demand for actors and actresses, it is obviously much larger in California than in Texas, so Alicia should already be on a plane. I guess more psychologists are also needed in California, but there should be enough demand for that skill in Texas so Douglas doesn´t need to move.