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How effective is compulsory schooling as a policy instrument?

Author

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  • Colm P. Harmon

    (University of Sydney, Australia, and IZA, Germany)

Abstract

Compulsory schooling laws are a common policy tool to achieve greater participation in education, particularly from marginalized groups. Raising the compulsory schooling requirement forces students to remain in school which, on balance, is good for them in terms of labor market outcomes such as earnings. But the usefulness of this approach rests with how the laws affect the distribution of years of schooling, and the wider benefits of the increase in schooling. There is also evidence that such a policy has an intergenerational impact, which can help address persistence in poverty across generations.

Suggested Citation

  • Colm P. Harmon, 2017. "How effective is compulsory schooling as a policy instrument?," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 348-348, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:2017:n:348
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. & Dahmann, Sarah C. & Kamhöfer, Daniel A. & Schildberg-Hörisch, Hannah, 2024. "Schooling and self-control," DICE Discussion Papers 413, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    2. Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. & Dahmann, Sarah Christina & Kamhöfer, Daniel A. & Schildberg-Hörisch, Hannah, 2022. "The determinants of population self-control," DICE Discussion Papers 385, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    3. Emma Gorman & Colm Harmon & Silvia Mendolia & Anita Staneva & Ian Walker, 2019. "The Causal Effects of Adolescent School Bullying Victimisation on Later Life Outcomes," Working Papers 2019-019, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    4. de New, Sonja C. & Schurer, Stefanie & Sulzmaier, Dominique, 2021. "Gender differences in the lifecycle benefits of compulsory schooling policies," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    5. Emma Gorman & Colm Harmon & Silvia Mendolia & Anita Staneva & Ian Walker, 2021. "Adolescent School Bullying Victimization and Later Life Outcomes," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 83(4), pages 1048-1076, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    compulsory schooling; returns to schooling; intergenerational; human capital; signaling;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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