Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/331732 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 18168
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
The criminal justice system primarily arrests and incarcerates people without high school diplomas. We estimate the causal effect of a high school diploma on criminal justice system contact for a set of people who previously exited high school but then attended The Excel Center (TEC), a network of high schools for adults. Compared to those who apply but do not enroll, students who enroll but exit without a diploma do not experience a decline in criminal charges. Criminal charges for students who complete a diploma, on the other hand, decline by 49% the year following application, an effect which largely persists for at least five years. These effects are sufficiently large to increase the cost-effectiveness of the program by 2-5 times. The pattern of effects also suggests that, beyond simple incapacitation, getting an adult high school diploma itself leads to lower contact with the criminal justice system.
Subjects: 
high school diploma
returns to education
human capital
GED
crime
JEL: 
K42
I24
I26
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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