Driving, Dropouts, and Drive-Throughs: Mobility Restrictions and Teen Human Capital

Valerie Bostwick and Christopher Severen

No 16183, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We provide evidence that graduated driver licensing (GDL) laws, originally intended to improve public safety, impact human capital accumulation. Many teens use automobiles to access both school and employment. Because school and work decisions are interrelated, the effects of automobile-specific mobility restrictions are ambiguous. Using a novel triple-difference research design, we find that restricting mobility significantly reduces high school dropout rates and teen employment. We develop a multiple discrete choice model that rationalizes unintended consequences and reveals that school and work are weak complements. Thus, improved educational outcomes reflect decreased access to leisure activities rather than reduced labor market access.

Keywords: mobility restrictions; human capital; teen employment; graduated driver licensing; multiple discreteness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C35 I20 J22 J24 R48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 68 pages
Date: 2023-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dcm, nep-hea, nep-lma and nep-ure
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Related works:
Working Paper: Driving, Dropouts, and Drive-Throughs: Mobility Restrictions and Teen Human Capita (2022)
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