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Crime, compulsory schooling laws and educationAuthor-Name: Bell, Brian

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  • Costa, Rui
  • Machin, Stephen

Abstract

Do compulsory schooling laws reduce crime? Previous evidence for the US from the 1960s and 1970s suggests they do, primarily working through their effect on educational attainment to generate a causal impact on crime. In this paper, we consider whether more recent experience replicates this. There are two key findings. First, there is a strong and consistent negative effect on crime from stricter compulsory schooling laws. Second, there is a weaker and sometimes non-existent link between such laws and educational attainment. As a result, credible causal estimates of the education–crime relationship cannot in general be identified for the more recent period, though they can for some groups with lower education levels (in particular, for blacks).

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:54:y:2016:i:c:p:214-226
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2015.09.007
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Crime; Education; Compulsory schooling laws;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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