Rising global high school dropout rates have prompted governments to implement targeted aid programs to keep students engaged in education. This research conducts a comparative literature review of four federal initiatives: Pé de Meia in Brazil, Avancemos in Costa Rica, and Job Corps and the Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Projects (YIEPP) in the United States. These programs were selected for their focus on improving secondary school retention among vulnerable youth through financial support, training, and incentive-based models.

The analysis evaluates each program’s design, implementation, outcomes, and limitations, highlighting how Latin American countries tend to adopt assistive approaches that require greater academic commitment in exchange for support. In contrast, the U.S. programs take a more active role by directly offering employment and vocational training opportunities alongside mandatory schooling. While both models contribute positively to reducing dropout rates, they also exhibit structural weaknesses, such as inefficient fund allocation and insufficient focus on educational quality.

The study recommends enhancing pedagogical methods to reduce school failure rates by up to 1.5 times, fostering more inclusive and engaging school environments, and reallocating resources toward cost-effective strategies that combine academic and socioeconomic support. These findings contribute to the global dialogue on educational equity and policy innovation in addressing youth disengagement from school.

Keywords: Education Policy, High School Dropout, Conditional Cash Transfers, Youth Employment, Latin America, United States.