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Does Juvenile Delinquency Reduce Educational Attainment?

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  • Shannon Ward
  • Jenny Williams

Abstract

This article investigates the effect of delinquency in youth on subsequent educational attainment. To do so, we focus on delinquent acts committed by age 16 and examine their impact on two measures of educational attainment: high school graduation and college graduation. Using information on males from the extremely rich National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, we find plausible evidence that delinquency by age 16 reduces the likelihood of graduating from high school and college. This effect is driven by early initiators, those who offend intensely, and by those whose delinquent activities involve income‐generating acts. Importantly, the impact of delinquency on education is not confined to those who have interaction with the criminal justice system, or gang members. Further analysis suggests that a channel through which delinquency impacts education is expected returns to crime, as reflected by subjective beliefs about the probability of arrest for a property crime.

Suggested Citation

  • Shannon Ward & Jenny Williams, 2015. "Does Juvenile Delinquency Reduce Educational Attainment?," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(4), pages 716-756, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:empleg:v:12:y:2015:i:4:p:716-756
    DOI: 10.1111/jels.12090
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    Cited by:

    1. Nguyen, Hieu T.M., 2019. "Do more educated neighbourhoods experience less property crime? Evidence from Indonesia," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 27-37.
    2. Shannon Ward & Jenny Williams & Jan C. van Ours, 2021. "Delinquency, Arrest and Early School Leaving," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 83(2), pages 411-436, April.
    3. Paik, Leslie & Giuffre, Andrea & Harris, Alexes & Shannon, Sarah, 2023. "The long reach of juvenile and criminal legal debt: How monetary sanctions shape legal cynicism and adultification," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).

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