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The Impact of Repealing Sunday Closing Laws on Educational Attainment

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  • Dara N. Lee

Abstract

Adolescents face daily tradeoffs between human capital investment, labor, and leisure. This paper exploits state variation in the repeal of Sunday closing laws to examine the impact of a distinct and plausibly exogenous rise in the quantity of competing diversions available to youth on their educational attainment. The results suggest that the repeals led to a significant decline in both years of education and the probability of high school completion. I explore increased employment and risky behaviors as potential mechanisms. Further, I find a corresponding decline of the repeals on adult wages.

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  • Dara N. Lee, 2013. "The Impact of Repealing Sunday Closing Laws on Educational Attainment," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 48(2), pages 286-310.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:48:y:2013:ii:1:p:286-310
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    1. Torberg Falch & Astrid Marie Jorde Sandsør & Bjarne Strøm, 2017. "Do Smaller Classes Always Improve Students’ Long-run Outcomes?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 79(5), pages 654-688, October.
    2. Zussman, Asaf, 2014. "The effect of political violence on religiosity," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 64-83.
    3. Lichtman-Sadot, Shirlee, 2016. "Improving academic performance through conditional benefits: Open/closed campus policies in high school and student outcomes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 95-112.
    4. By Marianne Haraldsvik & Bjarne Strøm, 2022. "Adult skills and labor market conditions during teenage years: cross-country evidence from international surveys [Is post-secondary education a safe port and for whom? Evidence from Canadian data]," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 74(3), pages 894-919.
    5. Dominique Goux & Eric Maurin, 2022. "Who will work on Sunday? The winners and losers of Sunday laws relaxation," Working Papers halshs-03884675, HAL.
    6. Holford, Angus, 2020. "Youth employment, academic performance and labour market outcomes: Production functions and policy effects," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    7. Fernando A. Lozano, 2017. "The rise of secularism and its economic consequences," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 384-384, September.
    8. Danny Cohen‐Zada & Yotam Margalit & Oren Rigbi, 2016. "Does Religiosity Affect Support For Political Compromise?," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 57(3), pages 1085-1106, August.
    9. Simon Søbstad Bensnes & Bjarne Strøm, 2015. "Earning or learning? The impact of relaxing shop opening hours restrictions on youth employment, education and earnings," Working Paper Series 16515, Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

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