IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iae/iaewps/wp2016n21.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Vocational Education and Training: A Pathway to the Straight and Narrow

Author

Listed:
  • Nikhil Jha

    (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne)

  • Cain Polidano

    (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne)

Abstract

Education is often claimed to reduce social exclusion and crime, yet there is little empirical evidence beyond that for increased schooling. In this study, we estimate the crime-reducing effects of participating in post-secondary vocational education and training (VET) between ages 16 and 44, exploiting a natural experiment in Australia that increased VET participation in the state of Victoria, but not in the neighbouring state of New South Wales. Using postcode (zipcode) level administrative data and difference-in-differences estimation, we find that increased VET participation is associated with reduced person, drug and property crime. We find much larger effects for mature-age people (26-44) than for young people (16-25), possibly because crime at this age is more closely linked to legitimate labor market opportunities. These results provide plausibly causal evidence that extending opportunities for later-life education and training can have substantial public benefits.

Suggested Citation

  • Nikhil Jha & Cain Polidano, 2016. "Vocational Education and Training: A Pathway to the Straight and Narrow," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2016n21, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    • Handle: RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2016n21
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/downloads/working_paper_series/wp2016n21.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Raphael, Steven & Winter-Ember, Rudolf, 2001. "Identifying the Effect of Unemployment on Crime," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(1), pages 259-283, April.
    2. Stephen Machin & Olivier Marie & Sunčica Vujić, 2011. "The Crime Reducing Effect of Education," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 121(552), pages 463-484, May.
    3. John H. Tyler & Jeffrey R. Kling, 2004. "Prison-Based Education and Re-Entry into the Mainstream Labor Market," Working Papers 12, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    4. Jacobson, Louis & LaLonde, Robert & G. Sullivan, Daniel, 2005. "Estimating the returns to community college schooling for displaced workers," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 125(1-2), pages 271-304.
    5. Jeffrey R. Kling & Jens Ludwig & Lawrence F. Katz, 2005. "Neighborhood Effects on Crime for Female and Male Youth: Evidence from a Randomized Housing Voucher Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(1), pages 87-130.
    6. Rasmus Landersø & Helena Skyt Nielsen & Marianne Simonsen, 2017. "School Starting Age and the Crime‐age Profile," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(602), pages 1096-1118, June.
    7. A. Colin Cameron & Jonah B. Gelbach & Douglas L. Miller, 2008. "Bootstrap-Based Improvements for Inference with Clustered Errors," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(3), pages 414-427, August.
    8. Randi Hjalmarsson & Helena Holmlund & Matthew J. Lindquist, 2015. "The Effect of Education on Criminal Convictions and Incarceration: Causal Evidence from Micro‐data," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 125(587), pages 1290-1326, September.
    9. Michael Coelli & Domenico Tabasso, 2019. "Where are the returns to lifelong learning?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 205-237, July.
    10. A. Colin Cameron & Douglas L. Miller, 2015. "A Practitioner’s Guide to Cluster-Robust Inference," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 50(2), pages 317-372.
    11. Nikhil Jha, 2015. "The Effect of Compulsory Engagement on Youth Crime," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2015n13, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    12. Ihlanfeldt, Keith R, 2006. "Neighborhood Crime and Young Males' Job Opportunity," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 49(1), pages 249-283, April.
    13. Brian A. Jacob & Lars Lefgren, 2003. "Are Idle Hands the Devil's Workshop? Incapacitation, Concentration, and Juvenile Crime," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(5), pages 1560-1577, December.
    14. Lance Lochner & Enrico Moretti, 2004. "The Effect of Education on Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates, Arrests, and Self-Reports," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 155-189, March.
    15. Gomez-Smith, Zenta & Piquero, Alex R., 2005. "An examination of adult onset offending," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 515-525.
    16. Peter Z. Schochet & John Burghardt & Sheena McConnell, 2008. "Does Job Corps Work? Impact Findings from the National Job Corps Study," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(5), pages 1864-1886, December.
    17. Russell Smyth, 2011. "Costs of Crime in Victoria," Monash Economics Working Papers 25-11, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    18. DeLisi, Matt & Piquero, Alex R., 2011. "New frontiers in criminal careers research, 2000-2011: A state-of-the-art review," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 289-301, July.
    19. repec:mpr:mprres:6097 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Peter Z. Schochet & John Burghardt & Sheena McConnell, "undated". "Does Job Corps Work? Impact Findings from the National Job Corps Study," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 5067e4907eba4a4881f510080, Mathematica Policy Research.
    21. D. Mark Anderson, 2014. "In School and Out of Trouble? The Minimum Dropout Age and Juvenile Crime," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(2), pages 318-331, May.
    22. Andrew Jenkins, 2006. "Women, lifelong learning and transitions into employment," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 20(2), pages 309-328, June.
    23. DeLisi, Matt, 2006. "Zeroing in on early arrest onset: Results from a population of extreme career criminals," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 17-26.
    24. Mora, Ricardo & Reggio, Iliana, 2012. "Treatment effect identification using alternative parallel assumptions," UC3M Working papers. Economics we1233, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Departamento de Economía.
    25. Luallen, Jeremy, 2006. "School's out... forever: A study of juvenile crime, at-risk youths and teacher strikes," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 75-103, January.
    26. Núria Rodríguez-Planas, 2012. "Longer-Term Impacts of Mentoring, Educational Services, and Learning Incentives: Evidence from a Randomized Trial in the United States," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 4(4), pages 121-139, October.
    27. Philip J. Cook & Songman Kang, 2013. "Birthdays, Schooling, and Crime: New Evidence on the Dropout-Crime Nexus," NBER Working Papers 18791, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mancino, Maria Antonella & Navarro, Salvador & Rivers, David A., 2016. "Separating state dependence, experience, and heterogeneity in a model of youth crime and education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 274-305.
    2. Brian Bell & Rui Costa & Stephen Machin, 2022. "Why Does Education Reduce Crime?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 130(3), pages 732-765.
    3. Ylenia Brilli & Marco Tonello, 2015. "The contemporaneous effect of education on adolescent crime. Mechanisms and evidence from regional divides," CHILD Working Papers Series 41 JEL Classification: I2, Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic Economics (CHILD) - CCA.
    4. Brian Bell & Rui Costa & Stephen Machin, 2015. "Crime, Compulsory Schooling Laws and Education," CEP Discussion Papers dp1374, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    5. Costa, Rui & Machin, Stephen, 2016. "Crime, compulsory schooling laws and educationAuthor-Name: Bell, Brian," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 214-226.
    6. Ylenia Brilli & Marco Tonello, 2018. "Does Increasing Compulsory Education Decrease or Displace Adolescent Crime? New Evidence from Administrative and Victimization Data," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 64(1), pages 15-49.
    7. Beatton, Tony & Kidd, Michael P. & Machin, Stephen & Sarkar, Dipa, 2016. "Larrikin youth: new evidence on crime and schooling," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 69033, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Åslund, Olof & Grönqvist, Hans & Hall, Caroline & Vlachos, Jonas, 2018. "Education and criminal behavior: Insights from an expansion of upper secondary school," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 178-192.
    9. Beatton, Tony & Kidd, Michael P. & Machin, Stephen & Sarkar, Dipanwita, 2018. "Larrikin youth: Crime and Queensland's Earning or Learning reform," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 149-159.
    10. Patrick Bennett & Amine Ouazad, 2020. "Job Displacement, Unemployment, and Crime: Evidence from Danish Microdata and Reforms [The Link between Human Capital, Mass Layoffs, and Firm Deaths]," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(5), pages 2182-2220.
    11. López Cruz, Iván G., 2019. "Policing, schooling and human capital accumulation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 572-597.
    12. Bernt Bratsberg & Øystein Hernæs & Simen Markussen & Oddbjørn Raaum & Knut Røed, 2019. "Welfare Activation and Youth Crime," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 101(4), pages 561-574, October.
    13. Amin, Vikesh & Flores, Carlos A. & Flores-Lagunes, Alfonso & Parisian, Daniel J., 2016. "The effect of degree attainment on arrests: Evidence from a randomized social experiment," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 259-273.
    14. Md. Abdur Rahman Forhad, 2021. "Minimum Dropout Age and Juvenile Crime in the USA," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 47(3), pages 378-405, June.
    15. Fone, Zachary S. & Sabia, Joseph J. & Cesur, Resul, 2023. "The unintended effects of minimum wage increases on crime," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    16. Nordin , Martin, 2014. "Does Eligibility for Tertiary Education Affect Crime Rates? Quasi-Experimental Evidence," Working Papers 2014:14, Lund University, Department of Economics.
    17. van Ours, Jan C. & Williams, Jenny & Ward, Shannon, 2015. "Bad Behavior: Delinquency, Arrest and Early School Leaving," CEPR Discussion Papers 10755, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    18. Manea, Roxana Elena & Piraino, Patrizio & Viarengo, Martina, 2023. "Crime, inequality and subsidized housing: Evidence from South Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    19. Tony Beatton & Michael P. Kidd & Matteo Sandi, 2020. "School indiscipline and crime," CEP Discussion Papers dp1727, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    20. Jonathan M.V. Davis & Sara B. Heller, 2017. "Rethinking the Benefits of Youth Employment Programs: The Heterogeneous Effects of Summer Jobs," NBER Working Papers 23443, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Vocational education and training; VET; crime; education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2016n21. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sheri Carnegie (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/mimelau.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.