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Charter Schools and Labor Market Outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Will Dobbie

    (Princeton University and NBER)

  • Roland G. Fryer

    (Harvard University and NBER)

Abstract

We estimate the impact of charter schools on early-life labor market outcomes using administrative data from Texas. We find that, at the mean, charter schools have no impact on test scores and a negative impact on earnings. No Excuses charter schools increase test scores and four-year college enrollment, but have a small and statistically insignificant impact on earnings, while other types of charter schools decrease test scores, four-year college enrollment, and earnings. Moving to school-level estimates, we find that charter schools that decrease test scores also tend to decrease earnings, while charter schools that increase test scores have no discernible impact on earnings. In contrast, high school graduation effects are predictive of earnings effects throughout the distribution of school quality. The paper concludes with a speculative discussion of what might explain our set of facts.

Suggested Citation

  • Will Dobbie & Roland G. Fryer, 2016. "Charter Schools and Labor Market Outcomes," Working Papers 600, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    • Handle: RePEc:pri:indrel:600
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Stephen Machin & Matteo Sandi, 2020. "Autonomous Schools and Strategic Pupil Exclusion," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 130(625), pages 125-159.
    2. Naven, Matthew, 2019. "Human-Capital Formation During Childhood and Adolescence: Evidence from School Quality and Postsecondary Success in California," MPRA Paper 97716, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Jo Blanden & Matthias Doepke & Jan Stuhler, 2022. "Education inequality," CEP Discussion Papers dp1849, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    4. Diether W Beuermann & C Kirabo Jackson & Laia Navarro-Sola & Francisco Pardo, 2023. "What is a Good School, and Can Parents Tell? Evidence on the Multidimensionality of School Output," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(1), pages 65-101.
    5. Eyles, Andrew & Machin, Stephen & McNally, Sandra, 2017. "Unexpected school reform: Academisation of primary schools in England," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 108-121.
    6. Florian Schoner & Lukas Mergele & Larissa Zierow, 2021. "Grading Student Behavior," CESifo Working Paper Series 9275, CESifo.
    7. Timothy Bond & Kevin Mumford, 2017. "Teacher Performance Pay in the United States: Incidence and Adult Outcomes," Purdue University Economics Working Papers 1289, Purdue University, Department of Economics.
    8. Bertoni, Marco & Heller-Sahlgren, Gabriel & Silva, Olmo, 2023. "Free to improve? The impact of free school attendance in England," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121281, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Corey A. DeAngelis & Patrick J. Wolf, 2019. "Will Democracy Endure Private School Choice? The Effect of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program on Adult Voting Behavior," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 34(Summer 20), pages 1-21.
    10. Matthew Johnson & Alicia Demers, "undated". "Ewing Marion Kauffman School Year 9 Impacts," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 99757ffe4e874b6f91de8b292, Mathematica Policy Research.
    11. Matthew Davis & Blake Heller, 2019. "No Excuses Charter Schools and College Enrollment: New Evidence from a High School Network in Chicago," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 14(3), pages 414-440, Summer.
    12. Kate Place & Philip Gleason, "undated". "Do Charter Middle Schools Improve Students' College Outcomes? (Evaluation Brief)," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 0fb9df64f6ad4ebd91cb58378, Mathematica Policy Research.
    13. Mookerjee, Sulagna & Slichter, David, 2023. "Test scores, schools, and the geography of economic opportunity," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    14. Schoner, Florian & Mergele, Lukas & Zierow, Larissa, 2024. "Grading student behavior," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education

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