Working Paper: NBER ID: w10045
Authors: Pinka Chatterji
Abstract: This paper uses data from the National Education Longitudinal Study to estimate the association between illicit drug use during high school and the number of years of schooling completed. The analysis accounts for the possibility that drug use is endogenous using two methods: (1) by controlling for individual-level characteristics measured before high school entrance; and (2) by using an instrumental variables method, with state drug policies and 8th grade school characteristics as identifying variables. Findings suggest that marijuana and cocaine use in both 10th and 12th grade are associated with reductions in the number of years of schooling completed.
Keywords: Illicit drug use; Educational attainment; Causal relationship
JEL Codes: I1
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| past month marijuana use in 10th or 12th grade (I21) | reduction in educational attainment (I24) |
| lifetime cocaine use by 10th or 12th grade (I21) | reduction in educational attainment (I24) |
| unobserved factors (C29) | educational attainment (I21) |
| individual-level characteristics measured before high school entrance (I21) | educational outcomes (I26) |
| high school drug use (I21) | educational outcomes (I26) |