Working Paper: NBER ID: w15728
Authors: Betsey Stevenson
Abstract: Between 1972 and 1978 U.S. high schools rapidly increased their female athletic participation rates--to approximately the same level as their male athletic participation rates--in order to comply with Title IX, a policy change that provides a unique quasi-experiment in female athletic participation. This paper examines the causal implications of this expansion in female sports participation by using variation in the level of boys' athletic participation across states before Title IX to instrument for the change in girls' athletic participation. Analysis of differences in outcomes across states in changes between pre- and post-cohorts reveals that a 10-percentage point rise in state-level female sports participation generates a 1 percentage point increase in female college attendance and a 1 to 2 percentage point rise in female labor force participation. Furthermore, greater opportunities to play sports leads to greater female participation in previously male-dominated occupations, particularly in high-skill occupations.
Keywords: Title IX; high school sports; female participation; educational attainment; labor market outcomes
JEL Codes: I21; I28; J16; J18; J21; J22; J24; J44; K3; K36
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| male athletic participation rates (Z22) | female athletic participation (Z22) |
| female athletic participation (Z22) | female college attendance (I23) |
| female athletic participation (Z22) | female labor force participation (J21) |
| female athletic participation (Z22) | participation in male-dominated occupations (J79) |
| female athletic participation (Z22) | educational attainment (I21) |
| female athletic participation (Z22) | employment status (J63) |
| female athletic participation (Z22) | wages (J31) |