49 research outputs found
Exit Exams and High School Dropout
In this paper, I consider the impact of the expansion of exams students must pass in order to graduate high school on dropout rates. "Exit exams," as these tests are known, have become more common, and more difficult. These exams are controversial, with opponents claiming they drive marginal students out of school, and proponents arguing they align student interests with those of the school and encourage teachers and administrators to provide effort and resources on the students' behalf. I make use of the fact that when states implement exit exams, they first affect a specific graduating class. So in some states, some students in high school are required to pass these exams, while students in the grade above are not. Using a state-grade panel constructed from the Common Core of Data I find evidence that the recent expansion of exit exams has resulted in a modest increase in high school dropout rates in the aggregate, but a large increase among students in 12th grade, where additional attempts to pass exams are not possible. I also find that a policy often used to limit the impacts of exit exams on high school completion has only limited effect: Dropout rates in states where students can earn a diploma or credential even when unable to pass exit exams, dropout increases in 12th grade at about the same rate as in other states without such alternative pathways. This suggests that at least some of the impact is due to stop-out on the part of students.high school dropout, exit exams, accountability, attainment
Rising Tuition and Enrollment in Public Higher Education
In this paper we review recent trends in tuition at public universities and estimate impacts on enrollment. We use data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System on all public four-year colleges and universities from 1991 to 2007 and illustrate that tuition increased dramatically beginning in the early part of this decade, increasing at rates unprecedented in the past half century. We examine impacts of these tuition increases on total enrollment and credit hours, and estimate differences by type of institution. We estimate that the average tuition and fee elasticity of total headcount is -0.1072. So, at the mean a $100 increase in tuition and fees (in 2006 dollars) would lead to a decline in enrollment of a little more than 0.25 percent, with larger effects at Research I universities. We find no evidence that especially large increases from one year to the next have a disproportionately large negative effect on enrollment.higher education, tuition, enrollment
Anti-depressants and Suicide
Does drug treatment for depression with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) increase or decrease the risk of completed suicide? The question is important in part because of recent government warnings that question the safety of SSRIs, one of the most widely prescribed medications in the world. While there are plausible clinical and behavioral arguments that SSRIs could have either positive or negative effects on suicide, randomized clinical trials have not been very informative because of small samples and other problems. In this paper we use data from 26 countries for up to 25 years to estimate the effect of SSRI sales on suicide mortality using just the variation in SSRI sales that can be explained by cross-country variation in the growth of drug sales more generally. We find that an increase in SSRI sales of 1 pill per capita (about a 12 percent increase over 2000 sales levels) is associated with a decline in suicide mortality of around 5 percent. These estimates imply a cost per statistical life far below most other government interventions to improve health outcomes.
Estimating Earnings Losses Due to Mental Illness: A Quantile Regression Approach
In this paper, we examine the effects of mental illness on earnings by recognizing that effects may vary across the distribution of earnings. Using data from the National Comorbidity Survey, we employ a quantile regression estimator to identify the effects at key points in the earnings distribution. We find that earnings effects vary importantly across the distribution. While average effects are often not large, mental illness more commonly imposes earnings losses at the lower tail of the earnings distribution, especially for women. Consequently, mental illness can have larger negative impacts on economic outcomes than previously estimated, even if those effects are not uniform.This research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (R01-MH56463-01)
The Effects of Parents' Psychiatric Disorders on Children's High School Dropout
Mental illness is known to impose substantial direct costs on the ill. In this paper, we examine an indirect cost of mental illness. We investigate the effect of parentsâ mental illnesses on the schooling of their children. Using data from the National Comorbidity Survey, we find that parentsâ mental illnesses increase the probability of high school dropout of children, though these effects differ markedly with disease. We also find that parental mental illness has more consistently negative effects on girls than on boys.
These findings indicate that parental mental illness can have a powerful impact on childrenâs schooling and subsequently on their adult lives. The larger impact on girlsâ schooling compounds the greater earnings and employment losses due to mental illness borne by adult women. Our results suggest that policies designed to mitigate the effects of parental mental illness on childrenâs schooling attainment are potentially efficient uses of societyâs resources
Prevalence and Patterns of Major Depressive Disorder in the United States Labor Force
Background and Aims of the Study: In this paper, we identify the 12-month and lifetime prevalence of major depressive disorder in and out of the labor force, and among the employed and unemployed. We examine whether prevalence by labor force and employment status varies by gender and over the life cycle. Finally, we examine whether people can ârecoverâ from depression with time by identifying patterns of labor force participation and employment as time since most recent episode passes. Methods: We examine data collected as part of the National Comorbidity Survey, a survey representative of the population of the United States designed to identify the prevalence of major mental illnesses. The National Comorbidity Study identified cases of major depression via the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Using these data, we estimate univariate and bivariate frequency distributions of major depressive disorder. We also estimate a set of multivariate models to identify the effect of a variety of dimensions of major depression on the propensity to participate in the labor force, and be employed if participating. Results: Lifetime and 12-month prevalence rates of depression are similar in and out of the labor force. Within the labor force, however, depression is strongly associated with unemployment. The negative relationship between depressive disorder and employment is particularly strong for middle age workers. Depression and the number of depressive episodes have a differing pattern of effects on labor market outcomes for men and women. We find evidence that labor force participation and employment rates for people with a history of depression increase significantly over time in the absence of additional depressive episodes. Discussion: Labor market status represents an important dimension along which prevalence of major depression varies. The relationship between depression and employment status is particularly strong for middle aged persons, but becomes weaker as time passes since the last depressive episode. Continued exploration of the association between work (or lack of work) and depression may ultimately help in the prediction, treatment and assessment of the illness. Implications for Practice and Policy: These results present a basic set of facts about the relationship between major depressive disorder and labor market outcomes. We have not, however, attempted to sort out the complexities of this relationship here. These complexities arise at almost every turn. For instance, the high level of prevalence of depression among the unemployed may be due to the possibility that the stresses associated with unemployment trigger depressive episodes or to the possibility that workers who are depressed are more likely to be fired or quit. Implications for Further Research: Our continuing research attempts to address these problems. Understanding when and how depression affects labor market outcomes and when and how labor market outcomes affect depression is an important endeavor for those interested in treating the disease and understanding its consequences.Funded by National Institute of Mental Health. Grant Number: R01-MH56463-0