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The Effects of Career and Technical Education: Evidence from the Connecticut Technical High School System

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  • Eric Brunner
  • Shaun Dougherty
  • Stephen L. Ross

Abstract

We examine the effect of attending stand-alone technical high schools on student short- and long-term outcomes using a regression discontinuity design. Male students are 10 percentage points more likely to graduate from high school and have half a semester less time enrolled in college, although effects on college fade-out. Male students have 32% higher quarterly earnings. Earnings effects may in part reflect general skills: male students have higher attendance rates and test scores, and industry fixed effects explain less than 1/3rd of earnings gains. We find little evidence that attending a technical high school affects the outcomes of female students.

Suggested Citation

  • Eric Brunner & Shaun Dougherty & Stephen L. Ross, 2021. "The Effects of Career and Technical Education: Evidence from the Connecticut Technical High School System," NBER Working Papers 28790, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28790
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    Cited by:

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    3. Machin, Stephen & McNally, Sandra & Terrier, Camille & Ventura, Guglielmo, 2020. "Closing the Gap between Vocational and General Education? Evidence from University Technical Colleges in England," IZA Discussion Papers 13837, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Celeste K. Carruthers & Christopher Jepsen, 2020. "Vocational Education: An International Perspective," CESifo Working Paper Series 8718, CESifo.
    5. Mikko Silliman & Hanna Virtanen, 2022. "Labor Market Returns to Vocational Secondary Education," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 14(1), pages 197-224, January.
    6. Halapuu, Vivika, 2021. "Access to education and disability insurance claims," Working Paper Series 2021:17, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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