Work

‘High’ Achievers? Cannabis Access and Academic Performance

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: This paper investigates how legal cannabis access affects student performance. Identification comes from an exceptional policy introduced in the city of Maastricht in the Netherlands that discriminated access via licensed cannabis shops based on an individual’s nationality. We apply a difference-in-difference approach using administrative panel data on course grades of local students enrolled at Maastricht University before and during the partial cannabis prohibition. We find that the academic performance of students who are no longer legally permitted to buy cannabis substantially increases. Grade improvements are driven by younger students and the effects are stronger for women and low performers. In line with how cannabis consumption affects cognitive functioning, we find that performance gains are larger for courses that require more numerical/mathematical skills. Our investigation of underlying channels using course evaluations suggests that performance gains are driven by an improved understanding of the material rather than changes in students’ study effort.

Source: The Review of Economic Studies

DOI: 10.1093/restud/rdx020

Authors: Olivier Marie, Ulf Zölitz

Institutions: IZA - Institute of Labor Economics, Tinbergen Institute, Maastricht University, Erasmus University Rotterdam, BRIQ Institute on Behavior and Inequality

Language: English

Topic: Educational Outcomes and Influences

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Quality education, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Economic and Social Research Council