US Criminal Deportations and Human Capital in Central America

Abstract

In this paper I ask whether peer effects generate changes in education investments in the areas where deported criminals are located in Central America using administrative data in El Salvador. I exploit the increase in criminal deportations from the United States in 1996 to analyze how individuals who grew up in municipalities affected by gangs in 1996 have fewer years of schooling when they are young adults. I find that individuals who were exposed during childhood to gang leaders have less schooling than those who were older than 16 in 1996 when the law was passed.