Full Citation
Title: Going Places: Effects of Early U.S. Compulsory Schooling Laws on Internal Migration
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2017
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Abstract: Institutional theories of education highlight the increasing importance of education as a driver of social change. As education expands, for example, it may take precedence over family in determining where people live and whether they leave their place of birth. This internal migration, in turn, may be a mechanism through which education influences other aspects of society. Both the industrialization thesis and institutional theories of education hypothesize that early educational expansion increased internal migration. We take advantage of state variation in early U.S. compulsory schooling laws and use a regression discontinuity approach to test this hypothesis in 1860-1950 Census data. Results indicate that those required to attend school were more likely to leave their state of birth than others. Those who moved were more likely to move to a non-farm area, from East to West, and longer distances compared to those who were not required to attend school. Furthermore, effects were stronger in states with low occupational status scores. Results may inform current educational expansion efforts in developing countries and offer implications for contemporary efforts to extend compulsory schooling in the U.S.
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Authors: Rauscher, Emily; Oh, Byeongdon
Publisher: University of Kansas
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Education, Migration and Immigration, Other
Countries: United States