PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Dara N. Lee
TI  - The Impact of Repealing Sunday Closing Laws on Educational Attainment
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.48.2.286
DP  - 2013 Mar 31
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 286--310
VI  - 48
IP  - 2
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/48/2/286.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/48/2/286.full
SO  - J Hum Resour2013 Mar 31; 48
AB  - Adolescents face daily tradeoffs between human capital investment, labor, and leisure. This paper exploits state variation in the repeal of Sunday closing laws to examine the impact of a distinct and plausibly exogenous rise in the quantity of competing diversions available to youth on their educational attainment. The results suggest that the repeals led to a significant decline in both years of education and the probability of high school completion. I explore increased employment and risky behaviors as potential mechanisms. Further, I find a corresponding decline of the repeals on adult wages.