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Some Benefit, Some Are Left Behind: NAFTA and Educational Attainment in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Leopoldo Gòmez-Ramírez

    (Universidad del Norte)

  • Marí­a Padilla-Romo

    (Department of Economics, University of Tennessee)

Abstract

This paper examines the persistent effects of eliminating tariffs on Mexican imports, following the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), on Americans' human capital investment. We leverage quasi-experimental changes in tariffs on Mexican imports following NAFTA across birth cohorts and within states. We show that NAFTA increases the probability of ever attending college and earning a degree. These results, however, mask important heterogeneous effects within the sample. In terms of race and ethnicity, gender, and their intersection, we find white Americans drive these positive effects, which in turn are smaller for white women. In contrast, the educational attainment of racial and ethnic minorities, especially men, shrank under NAFTA, decreasing their probability of graduating from high school.

Suggested Citation

  • Leopoldo Gòmez-Ramírez & Marí­a Padilla-Romo, 2021. "Some Benefit, Some Are Left Behind: NAFTA and Educational Attainment in the United States," Working Papers 2021-02, University of Tennessee, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ten:wpaper:2021-02
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    File URL: http://web.utk.edu/~jhollad3/RePEc/2021-02.pdf
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    NAFTA; human capital; trade openness; inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F61 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Microeconomic Impacts
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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