Transitory Earnings Opportunities and Educational Scarring of Men

Sigurdsson, Jósef

No 19066, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: I study how transitory increases in the opportunity cost of schooling affect dropout rates and long-run outcomes. Exploiting a tax-free year in Iceland and comparing teenagers around compulsory schooling age, I document increased dropout rates and a permanent loss in educational attainment for men, but not women. Consequently, they experience substantial lifetime earnings losses, enter occupations with limited career advancement, and have reduced marriage and fertility. Dropouts predominantly come from low-education—but not low-income—families and neighborhoods, consistent with misperceptions about the returns to education. The findings suggest that temporary economic booms can permanently reduce aggregate human capital accumulation.

JEL-codes: H24 I21 I26 J16 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-05
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