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Enforcing Compulsory Schooling through Credible Coercion: Lessons from Australia's Northern Territory Intervention

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  • Moshe Justman
  • Kyle Peyton

Abstract

Australia's Northern Territory Emergency Response and subsequent School Enrolment and Attendance Measure (SEAM) credibly threatened to remove welfare benefits from Indigenous families if their children failed to attend school regularly. A difference‐in‐difference analysis of participation rates in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy shows a substantial increase in participation rates the year after SEAM was implemented. However, administrators rarely carried out the threatened sanctions, and these initial gains largely dissipated in subsequent years. This unique episode illustrates the limited scope for promoting Indigenous school participation through conditional cash penalties.

Suggested Citation

  • Moshe Justman & Kyle Peyton, 2018. "Enforcing Compulsory Schooling through Credible Coercion: Lessons from Australia's Northern Territory Intervention," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 94(306), pages 223-238, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecorec:v:94:y:2018:i:306:p:223-238
    DOI: 10.1111/1475-4932.12418
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ã lvaro Choi, 2023. "The Impact of Compulsory Schooling Expansion on Educational Outcomes: The Case of Indonesia," UB School of Economics Working Papers 2023/452, University of Barcelona School of Economics.

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