Suspended from Work and School? Impacts of Layoff Events and Unemployment Insurance on Student Disciplinary Incidence

Riley Acton, Jo Al Khafaji-King and Austin Smith
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Jo Al Khafaji-King: New York University

No 16423, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We examine the impact of local labor market shocks and state unemployment insurance (UI) policies on student discipline in U.S. public schools. Analyzing school-level discipline data and firm-level layoffs in 23 states, we find that layoffs have little effect on discipline rates overall. However, effects differ across the UI benefit distribution. At the lowest benefit level ($265/week), a mass layoff increases out-of-school suspensions by 4.5%, with effects dissipating as UI benefits increase. Effects are consistently largest for Black students - especially in predominantly White schools - resulting in increased racial disproportionality in school discipline following layoffs in low-UI states.

Keywords: school discipline; layoffs; unemployment insurance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I24 J63 J65 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 39 pages
Date: 2023-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab and nep-ure
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