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Title: Some Benefit, Some Are Left Behind: NAFTA and Educational Attainment in the United States

Citation Type: Working Paper

Publication Year: 2021

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Abstract: This paper examines the persistent effects of eliminating tariffs on Mexican imports, following the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), on Americans’ human capital investment. We leverage quasi-experimental changes in tariffs on Mexican imports following NAFTA across birth cohorts and within states. We show that NAFTA increases the probability of ever attending college and earning a degree. These results, however, mask important heterogeneous effects within the sample. In terms of race and ethnicity, gender, and their intersection, we find white Americans drive these positive effects, which in turn are smaller for white women. In contrast, the educational attainment of racial and ethnic minorities, especially men, shrank under NAFTA, decreasing their probability of graduating from high school.

Url: http://web.utk.edu/~jhollad3/RePEc/2021-02.pdf

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Authors: Gómez-Ramírez, Leopoldo; Padilla-Romo, María

Series Title: Working paper Series, Department of Economics

Publication Number: 2021-02

Institution: Haslam College of Business

Pages: 1-37

Publisher Location: Knoxville

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Education, Gender

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