The short-term impact of crime on school enrollment and school choice: evidence from El Salvador

Juan Nelson Martínez Dahbura

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: This paper employs variations in crime rates, attributed to an unprecedented countrywide truce between gangs in El Salvador in 2012, to evaluate the short-term impact of homicides and extortions on the education choices of Salvadoran households. Results reveal that the reduction in homicide rates due to the truce were associated with a migration within the education system, from public to private institutions, among boys aged fifteen to twenty-two years. The fluctuations in homicide rates were also associated with a lower school attendance for girls aged seven to fourteen years, especially due to a lower public school enrollment. No significant association between fluctuations in extortion rates and education choices was observed.

Keywords: demand for schooling; school choice; crime; El Salvador (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D13 I20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 25 pages
Date: 2020-04-01
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Published in Economía, 1, April, 2020, 18(2), pp. 121 - 145. ISSN: 1529-7470

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:123364

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