This paper investigates the effect of high school graduation requirements on arrest rates with a specific focus on the number of required courses and the use of exit exams. Identifying variation comes from state-by-cohort changes in the laws governing high school graduation requirements from 1980 to 2010. Combining these law changes with arrest rates of young adults from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), I find that the use of exit exams can reduce arrest rates by approximately 7%. While it is difficult to parse out the exact mechanisms additional exploration into heterogeneity by age and offense as well as examination of labor market outcomes suggest that these policies may have increased learning. Given the current debate around the use of exit exams this paper provides evidence of beneficial effects on non-academic outcomes. This paper also provides further evidence of the influence of education policy on crime.

中文翻译：

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高杠还是后杠？毕业要求对逮捕率的影响

本文研究了高中毕业要求对逮捕率的影响，重点是必修课程的数量和考试的使用。识别差异的原因是1980到2010年间有关高中毕业要求的法律在各个州之间的变化。将这些法律变化与FBI统一犯罪报告（UCR）中对年轻人的逮捕率结合起来，我发现使用出口考试可以将逮捕率降低大约7％。虽然很难解析出确切的机制，但按年龄和违法对异质性进行的其他探索以及对劳动力市场成果的考察表明，这些政策可能增加了学习。鉴于当前有关使用退出考试的争论，本文提供了对非学术成果产生有益影响的证据。