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Wheeling into School and Out of Crime: Evidence from Linking Driving Licenses to Minimum Academic Requirements

Author

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  • Barua, Rashmi

    (Jawaharlal Nehru University)

  • Vidal-Fernandez, Marian

    (University of Sydney)

Abstract

Since the late 1980s, several U.S. states have set minimum academic requirements for high school students to apply for and retain their driving licenses. These laws popularly known as "No Pass No Drive" (NPND), encourage teenagers with a preference for driving to stay in school beyond the minimum dropout age. Using Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrest data, we exploit state, time and cohort variation to show that having an NPND law in place is associated with a significant decrease in arrests due to violent, drug-related and property crime among males between 16 to 18 years of age. We argue that our findings are driven by an increase in education rather than incapacitation and that NPND laws are a relatively low cost policy that generates positive externalities beyond and in addition to the minimum dropout age.

Suggested Citation

  • Barua, Rashmi & Vidal-Fernandez, Marian, 2016. "Wheeling into School and Out of Crime: Evidence from Linking Driving Licenses to Minimum Academic Requirements," IZA Discussion Papers 10346, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10346
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    Cited by:

    1. Kendall J. Kennedy, 2020. "The Unexpected Effects of No Pass, No Drive Policies on High School Education," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(1), pages 191-217, January.
    2. Kennedy, Kendall & Shen, Danqing, 2020. "Education, Crowding-out, and Black-White Employment Gaps in Youth Labor Markets: Evidence from No Pass, No Drive Policies," MPRA Paper 103788, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    No Pass No Drive laws; juvenile crime; education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K14 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Criminal Law
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy

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