Housing Booms and Busts, Labor Market Opportunities, and College Attendance
American Economic Review
vol. 108,
no. 10, October 2018
(pp. 2947-94)
Abstract
We study how the recent housing boom and bust affected college enrollment during the 2000s. We exploit cross-city variation in local housing booms, which improved labor market opportunities for young men and women. We find that the boom lowered college enrollment, with effects concentrated at two-year colleges. The decline in enrollment during the boom was generally reversed during the bust; however, attainment remains persistently low for particular cohorts, suggesting that reduced educational attainment is an enduring effect of the recent housing cycle. The housing boom can account for approximately 25 percent of the recent slowdown in college attainment.Citation
Charles, Kerwin Kofi, Erik Hurst, and Matthew J. Notowidigdo. 2018. "Housing Booms and Busts, Labor Market Opportunities, and College Attendance." American Economic Review, 108 (10): 2947-94. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20151604Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I23 Higher Education; Research Institutions
- I25 Education and Economic Development
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
- R21 Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics: Housing Demand
- R31 Housing Supply and Markets