Mark Hoekstra

THE EFFECT OF ATTENDING THE FLAGSHIP STATE UNIVERSITY ON EARNINGS: A DISCONTINUITY-BASED APPROACH

This paper examines the effect of attending the flagship state university on the earnings of 28 to 33 year olds by combining confidential admissions records from a large state university with earnings data collected through the states unemployment insurance program. To distinguish the effect of attending the flagship state university from the effects of confounding factors correlated with the universitys admission decision or the applicants enrollment decision, I exploit a large discontinuity in the probability of enrollment at the admission cutoff. The results indicate that attending the most selective state university causes earnings to be approximately 20 higher for white men.

Does drinking impair college performance? Evidence from a regression discontinuity approach

This paper examines the effect of alcohol consumption on student achievement. To do so, we exploit the discontinuity in drinking at age 21 at a college in which the minimum legal drinking age is strictly enforced. We find that drinking causes significant reductions in academic performance, particularly for the highest-performing students. This suggests that the negative consequences of alcohol consumption extend beyond the narrow segment of the population at risk of more severe, low-frequency, outcomes.

The Ticket to Easy Street? The Financial Consequences of Winning the Lottery

This paper examines whether giving large cash transfers to financially distressed people causes them to avoid bankruptcy. A comparison of Florida Lottery winners who randomly received

Lucky in Life, Unlucky in Love?: The Effect of Random Income Shocks on Marriage and Divorce

50,000 to

Does High School Quality Matter? Evidence from Admissions Data

150,000 to small winners indicates that such transfers only postpone bankruptcy rather than prevent it, a result inconsistent with the negative shock model of bankruptcy. Furthermore, the large winners who subsequently filed for bankruptcy had similar net assets and unsecured debt as small winners. Thus, our findings suggest that skepticism regarding the long-term impact of cash transfers may be warranted.

Family Business or Social Problem? The Cost of Unreported Domestic Violence

Economists have long been interested in the extent to which economic resources affect decisions to marry and divorce. For married couples, an increase in resources can either provide a stabilization effect or, alternatively, can enable divorce by allowing the couple to overcome costs associated with divorce. Similarly, while economic theory predicts that an increase in income makes an unmarried person more attractive to potential marriage partners, it may also make single life more attractive. However, answering these questions empirically has been difficult due to a lack of exogenous income shocks. We overcome this problem by exploiting the randomness of the Florida Lottery and comparing recipients of large prizes to those of small prizes. Results indicate that while positive income shocks of

Are School Counselors a Cost-Effective Education Input?

25,000 to

Is Poor Fitness Contagious? Evidence from Randomly Assigned Friends

50,000 do not cause statistically significant or economically meaningful changes in divorce rates, single women are less likely to marry as a result of the additional income.

Is poor fitness contagious

This paper examines the effect of attending elite private high school on college placement using admissions data from the most selective high school in a large metropolitan area. To overcome omitted variable bias, we limit the sample to admitted applicants and control directly for the scores assigned by admissions based on in-depth analyses of the applicants and their families. In addition, we control for a wide set of covariates including student and family characteristics and entrance exam scores. Results indicate that attending selective private high school rather than other public and private high schools causes students to attend more selective universities. Effects are driven by gains for girls and students from lower-income neighborhoods.

Does Strengthening Self-Defense Law Deter Crime or Escalate Violence?: Evidence from Expansions to Castle Doctrine

Social interest in problems such as domestic violence is typically motivated by concerns regarding equity, rather than efficiency. However, we document that reporting domestic violence yields substantial benefits to external parties. Specifically, we find that while children exposed to as-yet-unreported domestic violence reduce the achievement of their classroom peers, these costs disappear completely once the parent reports the violence to the court. This suggests the public has an interest in helping families overcome their problems in general, and to report domestic violence in particular. It also suggests that social and judicial interventions may help combat negative peer effects in schools.