Working Paper: NBER ID: w9172
Authors: H. Naci Mocan; Erdal Tekin
Abstract: Although there is a sizeable literature on the effect of private school attendance on academic student outcomes, the number of studies that investigate the impact of school sector on non-academic outcomes is limited. Using a rich data set, we analyze the impact of Catholic school attendance on the likelihood that teenagers use or sell drugs, commit property crime, have sex, join gangs, attempt suicide, and run away from home. We employ propensity score matching methods to control for the endogeneity of school choice. Catholic school attendance reduces the propensity to use cocaine and to have sex for female students. However, it increases the propensity to use and sell drugs for male students.
Keywords: Catholic schools; Risky behavior; Propensity score matching
JEL Codes: I20; J13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Catholic school attendance (Z12) | propensity for female students to use cocaine (J16) |
| Catholic school attendance (Z12) | propensity for female students to engage in sexual activity (J16) |
| Catholic school attendance (Z12) | propensity for male students to use drugs (C92) |
| Catholic school attendance (Z12) | propensity for male students to sell drugs (K42) |