Out of work and into school: Labor market policies and college enrollment during the Great Recession Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • 2015 Elsevier B.V. The Great Recession brought large increases in unemployment and college enrollment; we examine how changing state labor market conditions and state-specific variation in Unemployment Insurance (UI) interact to affect enrollment outcomes. We identify a substantial role of the UI program in affecting post-secondary enrollment choices. We provide some of the first evidence that the duration of UI affects a displaced individual's propensity to enroll, and suggestive evidence that these effects are larger in states with more inclusive approved training laws. These findings identify a substantial overlap between UI policy and post-secondary enrollment decisions, indicating the potential importance of UI in not only providing income but also facilitating investments in skills.

published proceedings

  • Journal of Public Economics

altmetric score

  • 232.08

author list (cited authors)

  • Barr, A., & Turner, S.

citation count

  • 43

complete list of authors

  • Barr, Andrew||Turner, Sarah

publication date

  • January 2015