Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/20572 
Year of Publication: 
2004
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 1306
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
In this paper, we exploit an exogenous change in the passing standard required to obtain a General Educational Development (GED) credential to identify the impact of the GED on the quarterly earnings of male dropouts, utilizing the Texas Schools Micro Data Panel (TSMP). These unique data contain demographic and GED test score information from the Texas Education Agency linked to pre- and post-test taking Unemployment Insurance quarterly wage records from the Texas Workforce Commission. Comparing Texas dropouts who acquired a GED before the passing standard was raised in 1997 to dropouts with the same test scores who failed the GED exams after the passing standard hike, we find no evidence of a positive ?GED effect? on earnings. The finding of no significant difference in pre-test taking earnings between the treatment and control group support the validity of the natural experiment. Our results are robust to a number of specifications and sub-samples of our general sample population of 16-40 year old males.
Subjects: 
GED
returns to education
natural experiment
JEL: 
J31
I2
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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