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Identifying the effects of bullying victimization on schooling

Abstract

I estimate whether bullying leads to worse academic outcomes for bullied students, exploiting state-year differences in anti-bullying laws, and within-law heterogeneity that provide variation in the probability of bullying victimization. Using data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, I show that bullying increases the probability of skipping classes and dropping out of high school, and it decreases grade point average by up to 5%. Heterogeneity analysis shows that physical bullying imposes a greater burden on males, though females are relatively more sensitive to nonphysical bullying. These negative effects persist into adulthood as high school bullying decreases college performance and college graduation.

 

Source: Contemporary Economic Policy (2021). Identifying the effects of bullying victimization on schooling.