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The Effect of Quarantining Welfare on School Attendance in Indigenous Communities

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  • Deborah A. Cobb-Clark
  • Nathan Kettlewell
  • Stefanie Schurer
  • Sven Silburn

Abstract

We identify the causal impact of quarantining welfare payments on Aboriginal children’s school attendance by exploiting exogenous variation in its rollout across communities. We find that income quarantining reduced attendance by 4.7 percent on average in the first five months. Attendance eventually returned to its initial level, but never improved. The attendance penalty does not operate through changes in student enrollments, geographic mobility, or other policy initiatives. Instead, we demonstrate that financial disruption may be responsible for the temporary reduction in school attendance. Supplemental analysis suggests that the policy rollout may have increased family discord.

Suggested Citation

  • Deborah A. Cobb-Clark & Nathan Kettlewell & Stefanie Schurer & Sven Silburn, 2023. "The Effect of Quarantining Welfare on School Attendance in Indigenous Communities," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(6), pages 2072-2110.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:58:y:2023:i:6:p:2072-2110
    Note: DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.1218-9909R2
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    3. Doyle, Mary-Alice & Schurer, Stefanie & Silburn, Sven, 2020. "Unintended Consequences of Welfare Reform: Evidence from Birth Outcomes of Aboriginal Australians," IZA Discussion Papers 13543, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D04 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Policy: Formulation; Implementation; Evaluation
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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