Are there civic returns to education?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Dee, TS
• 署名单位: Swarthmore College
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2003.11.002
• 发表日期: 2004
• 页码: 1697-1720
• 关键词: Voting; civic engagement; education; externalities

摘要

The hypothesized effects of educational attainment on adult civic engagement and attitudes provide some of the most important justifications for government intervention in the market for education. In this study, I present evidence on whether these externalities exist. I assess and implement two strategies for identifying the effects of educational attainment. One is based on the availability of junior and community colleges; the other, on changes in teen exposure to child labor laws. The results suggest that educational attainment has large and statistically significant effects on subsequent voter participation and support for free speech. I also find that additional schooling appears to increase the quality of civic knowledge as measured by the frequency of newspaper readership. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.