Essays on the Economics of Education

This dissertation is composed of three independent chapters in the field of the economics of education. The first chapter studies the impact of grade retention on a broad group of conventional estimation strategies in the economics literature. The second chapter studies the effects of a widespread negative incentive policy on educational choice. The third chapter studies the effects of the same policy on teen behavioral and health outcomes. The first chapter investigates how the high prevalence of grade retention in the United States causes bias in a wide variety of conventional estimation strategies. Over the past four decades, ninth grade repeating has increased four-fold. Despite its prevalence, few economists have attempted to account for grade repeating when estimating returns to education and experience. I document the rise in grade repeating and show that 10% of the increase in ninth grade repeating can be attributed to changes in compulsory schooling laws (CSLs). I show that, because CSLs affect both grade repeating and educational attainment, CSL-based instrumental variables estimates of the returns to education are biased by up to 38%. Additionally, grade repeating causes endogenous measurement error in potential labor market experience. Solely through this measurement error, I show that the residual black-white wage gap is overstated by 10%, the wage returns to a GED relative to a high school diploma are understated by 15%, and the labor supply gap between GED recipients and high school graduates is overstated by 33%. The second chapter studies how No Pass, No Drive policies affect teen educational choices. Since 1988, 27 states have introduced No Pass, No Drive laws, which tie a teenager’s ability to receive and maintain a driver’s license to various school-related outcomes – most commonly, enrollment and attendance. Truancy-Based No Pass, No Drive policies target only attendance – teens that fail to meet a minimum attendance requirement lose their driver’s license. However, these policies allow students to drop out of school without facing this penalty. These policies increase the annual dropout rate by between 32 and 45 percent (1.4 to 2 percentage points). Enrollment-Based No Pass, No Drive policies, the largest group of policies, which target both enrollment and attendance, have negligible effects on dropout rates, but decrease the Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate (AFGR) by more than one percentage point. However, this lower graduation rate stems from students delaying their dropout decision by up to two years. As a result, these students are retained in the ninth and tenth grades, increasing ninth grade enrollment by 2.8 percent relative to eighth grade enrollment the year prior; this causes an artificial reduction in the graduation rate, rather than a reduction in the true likelihood that a student will graduate. The third chapter studies how No Pass, No Drive policies affect teen health and labor outcomes. Using difference-in-differences estimation, we identify the causal effect of these policies on teen behavioral outcomes – teen births, traffic fatalities, and teen employment. We find that the largest group of NPND polices cause a small increase in teen births, with large effects on black teen births (6 percent) and hispanic teen births (21 percent). These policies also cause a reduction in teen-involved fatal traffic accidents by 3 percent, with larger effects for white teens (15 percent). This is caused by the revocation of driver\u27s licenses, as the reduction in fatal traffic accidents is constant during and outside of school hours, and is larger (12 percent overall) in later years as enforcement technology improved. NPND polices cause a shift in teen employment – overall teen employment rates are not affected, but white teen employment decreases due to a 1 percentage point increase in white school enrollment. This is offset by a 5 percentage point increase in black teen employment, where black teens fill the new job openings created by white teens enrolling in school. Our results demonstrate that increasing school retention and decreasing teen drivers\u27 licenses reduce fatal traffic accidents and increase teen births, and we provide suggestive evidence of existing racial frictions in youth labor markets, which can be reduced by lowering dropout rates

Education, Crowding-out, and Black-White Employment Gaps in Youth Labor Markets: Evidence from No Pass, No Drive Policies

We study how educational attainment and school enrollment status differentially affect Black and White teen part-time employment in the context of No Pass, No Drive policies. These policies require that teens maintain enrollment and regular attendance in school in order to hold a driver’s license, and previous research (Barua and Vidal-Fernandez 2014; Kennedy 2020) shows they cause large increases in school enrollment and educational attainment. Using difference-in-differences estimation, we find that No Pass, No Drive policies cause a 5 percentage point increase in Black teen part-time employment, but do not cause an associated change in White teen employment. Rather, this increase in Black teen part-time employment is offset by a 1.7 percentage point decrease in part-time employment for White young adults (aged 18-25). Event study specifications show that these patterns are driven by long-term compositional changes in the young adult workforce. There are no immediate effects of No Pass, No Drive policies on employment, but these policies cause an increase in the educational attainment of teens, who then become less likely to accept part-time work as young adults. This evidence suggests substantial “crowding out” of Black teens by young adults in part-time work, and that efforts to promote full-time work or post-secondary school attendance for young adults may additionally aid Black teens in part-time job finding

Hidden Schooling: Repeated Grades and the Returns to Education and Experience

Over the past four decades, nearly 25% of all American public school students repeated at least one grade in primary or secondary school, and ninth grade repeating increased four-fold. Despite its prevalence, few economists have attempted to account for grade repeating when estimating the returns to education and experience. I show that 10% of the increase in ninth grade repeating was caused by changes in compulsory schooling laws (CSLs). Because CSLs increase both grade repeating and educational attainment, compulsory education-based IV estimates of the returns to education are positively biased by up to 38%. Additionally, grade repeating causes endogenous measurement error in labor market experience. Solely through this measurement error, I show that the residual black-white wage gap is overstated by 10%, the wage return to a high school diploma is overstated by 11% relative to dropouts, and the labor supply gap between dropouts and high school graduates is overstated by 23%. Controlling for age instead of experience reduces this bias, suggesting age should be a standard control variable for reduced-form analysis, not experience

The Unexpected Effects of No Pass, No Drive Policies on High School Education

Since 1988, 27 states have introduced No Pass, No Drive laws, which tie a teenager’s ability to receive and maintain a driver’s license to various school-related outcomes -- most commonly, enrollment and attendance. Truancy-Based No Pass, No Drive policies target only attendance – teens that fail to meet a minimum attendance requirement lose their driver’s license. However, these policies allow students to drop out of school without facing this penalty. These policies increase the annual dropout rate by between 32 and 45 percent (1.4 to 2 percentage points). Enrollment-Based No Pass, No Drive policies, the largest group of policies, which target both enrollment and attendance, have negligible effects on dropout rates, but decrease the Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate (AFGR) by more than one percentage point. However, this lower graduation rate stems from students delaying their dropout decision by up to two years. As a result, these students are retained in the ninth and tenth grades, increasing ninth grade enrollment by 2.8 percent relative to eighth grade enrollment the year prior; this causes an artificial reduction in the graduation rate, rather than a reduction in the true likelihood that a student will graduate

The Unexpected Effects of No Pass, No Drive Policies on High School Education

Since 1988, 27 states have introduced No Pass, No Drive laws, which tie a teenager’s ability to receive and maintain a driver’s license to various school-related outcomes -- most commonly, enrollment and attendance. Truancy-Based No Pass, No Drive policies target only attendance – teens that fail to meet a minimum attendance requirement lose their driver’s license. However, these policies allow students to drop out of school without facing this penalty. These policies increase the annual dropout rate by between 32 and 45 percent (1.4 to 2 percentage points). Enrollment-Based No Pass, No Drive policies, the largest group of policies, which target both enrollment and attendance, have negligible effects on dropout rates, but decrease the Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate (AFGR) by more than one percentage point. However, this lower graduation rate stems from students delaying their dropout decision by up to two years. As a result, these students are retained in the ninth and tenth grades, increasing ninth grade enrollment by 2.8 percent relative to eighth grade enrollment the year prior; this causes an artificial reduction in the graduation rate, rather than a reduction in the true likelihood that a student will graduate

Hidden Schooling: Repeated Grades and the Returns to Education and Experience

Over the past four decades, nearly 25% of all American public school students repeated at least one grade in primary or secondary school, and ninth grade repeating increased four-fold. Despite its prevalence, few economists have attempted to account for grade repeating when estimating the returns to education and experience. I show that 10% of the increase in ninth grade repeating was caused by changes in compulsory schooling laws (CSLs). Because CSLs increase both grade repeating and educational attainment, compulsory education-based IV estimates of the returns to education are positively biased by up to 38%. Additionally, grade repeating causes endogenous measurement error in labor market experience. Solely through this measurement error, I show that the residual black-white wage gap is overstated by 10%, the wage return to a high school diploma is overstated by 11% relative to dropouts, and the labor supply gap between dropouts and high school graduates is overstated by 23%. Controlling for age instead of experience reduces this bias, suggesting age should be a standard control variable for reduced-form analysis, not experience

When Opportunity Knocks: China's Open Door Policy and Declining Educational Attainment

At the end of 1978, China opened the door to trade with foreign businesses. This study investigates how the Open Door Policy's implementation affected the skill composition and skill premium for workers born 1960-1970. Using measures of local labor markets' export exposure, we find that for every $1000 increase in exports per worker, high school completion rates decreased by 4.5 p.p. for workers born in 1970, compared to those born in 1960. Linking this to mid-career outcomes in 2010, we show that highly export-exposed workers in China have a$124 greater return to an additional year of schooling than their less export-exposed brethren. This suggests China's growth was likely dampened and its income inequality widened during the early industrialization of the 1980s and 1990s, as the Open Door Policy simultaneously reduced the availability of skilled labor and increased the skill premium

When Opportunity Knocks: China's Open Door Policy and Declining Educational Attainment

At the end of 1978, China opened the door to trade with foreign businesses. This study investigates how the Open Door Policy's implementation affected the skill composition and skill premium for workers born 1960-1970. Using measures of local labor markets' export exposure, we find that for every $1000 increase in exports per worker, high school completion rates decreased by 4.5 p.p. for workers born in 1970, compared to those born in 1960. Linking this to mid-career outcomes in 2010, we show that highly export-exposed workers in China have a$124 greater return to an additional year of schooling than their less export-exposed brethren. This suggests China's growth was likely dampened and its income inequality widened during the early industrialization of the 1980s and 1990s, as the Open Door Policy simultaneously reduced the availability of skilled labor and increased the skill premium

Élargir les mandats de responsabilité sociale à la recherche biomédicale dans les facultés canadiennes

Background: Social accountability (SA), as defined by Boelen and Heck, is the obligation of medical schools to address the needs of communities through education, research and service activities. While SA is embedded within health profession education frameworks in medicine, they are rarely taught within graduate-level (MSc/PhD) education. Methods: As these programs train future medical researchers, we invited first-year graduate students enrolled in a mandatory professionalism class at our institution (n = 111) to complete a survey on their perceptions of the importance of SA in their research, training, and future careers. Results: Over 80% (n = 87) of respondents agreed that SA is relevant and felt committed to integrating it into their future research activities, only a limited number of students felt confident and/or supported in their abilities to integrate SA into their research. Conclusions: Specific SA training in graduate education is necessary for students to effectively incorporate elements of SA into their research, and as such support the SA mandates of their training institutions. We posit that awareness of SA principles formalizes the professional standards for biomedical researchers and is thus foundational for developing a professionalism curriculum in graduate education programs in medicine. We propose an expansion of the World Health Organization (WHO) partnership pentagon to include partners within the research ecosystem (funding partners, certification bodies) that collaborate with biomedical researchers to make research socially accountable.Contexte : La responsabilité sociale (RS), telle que définie par Boelen et Heck, est l'obligation pour les facultés de médecine de répondre aux besoins des communautés par l’entremise de l'éducation, de la recherche et des activités de service. Bien que la responsabilité sociale soit intégrée dans les cadres de formation des professionnels de santé en médecine, elle est rarement enseignée au niveau des études supérieures (MSc/PhD). Méthodes : Étant donné que ces programmes forment les futurs chercheurs médicaux, nous avons invité les étudiants de première année inscrits à un cours obligatoire sur le professionnalisme dans notre établissement (n = 111) à participer à une enquête sur leurs perceptions de l'importance de la RS dans leur recherche, leur formation et leur future carrière. Résultats : Plus de 80 % (n = 87) des répondants ont reconnu la pertinence de la RS et se sont engagés à l'intégrer dans leurs futures activités de recherche, mais seul un nombre limité d'étudiants se sont sentis confiants et/ou soutenus dans leurs capacités à intégrer la RS dans leur recherche. Conclusions : Une formation propre à la RS dans le cadre des études supérieures est nécessaire pour que les étudiants puissent intégrer efficacement des éléments de la RS dans leur recherche, et ainsi promouvoir les mandats de RS de leurs établissements de formation. Nous estimons que la sensibilisation aux principes de la RS formalise les normes professionnelles des chercheurs biomédicaux et qu'elle est donc fondamentale pour l'élaboration d'un programme de professionnalisme dans les programmes d'études supérieures en médecine. Nous proposons d'élargir le pentagone du partenariat de l'Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) pour y inclure les partenaires de l'écosystème de la recherche (partenaires financiers, organismes de certification) qui collaborent avec les chercheurs biomédicaux pour rendre la recherche socialement responsable