The effect of job displacement on public college enrollment: Evidence from Ohio

Displaced workers suffer large and persistent earnings losses. These losses can be mitigated by returning to school, yet the extent to which such workers enroll in post-secondary education in response to displacement is poorly understood. Using employer-employee-student matched administrative data from Ohio, we provide the first direct evidence of workers’ enrollment responses following mass layoffs in the United States. We estimate that for every 100 displaced workers, only 1 is ever induced to enroll in a public college. This effect is concentrated almost entirely among displaced manufacturing workers, who enroll at a rate of 2.5 per 100. Workers with relatively low earnings at their layoff firms are the most likely to enroll in public institutions.