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Title: Leaving School in an Economic Downturn and Self-esteem across Early and Middle Adulthood
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Maclean, Johanna Catherine
Hill, Terrence D.
Leaving School in an Economic Downturn and Self-esteem across Early and Middle Adulthood
Labour Economics 37 (December 2015): 1-12.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927537115000925
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Economic Changes/Recession; Geocoded Data; Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) (see Self-Esteem); Schooling; Self-Esteem; State-Level Data/Policy; Unemployment Rate

In this study, we test whether leaving school in an economic downturn impacts self-esteem across early and middle adulthood. Self-esteem is of interest to economists because it is an established determinant of important socioeconomic outcomes such as wages, crime, marriage, health, and civic engagement. Previous research suggests that leaving school in a downturn can depress career trajectories, and social psychological theory predicts that career success is an important determinant of self-esteem. We model responses to a standard measure of self-esteem (the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale) as a function of the state unemployment rate at school-leaving. We address the potential endogeneity of time and location of school-leaving with instrumental variables. Our results suggest that leaving school in an economic downturn can undermine self-esteem over time.
Bibliography Citation
Maclean, Johanna Catherine and Terrence D. Hill. "Leaving School in an Economic Downturn and Self-esteem across Early and Middle Adulthood." Labour Economics 37 (December 2015): 1-12.