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  5. Safety First: Perceived Risk of Street Harassment and Educational Choices of Women

American Economic Review

ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)

Safety First: Perceived Risk of Street Harassment and Educational Choices of Women

  • Girija Borker
American Economic Review (Forthcoming)

Abstract

This paper examines the unequal impact of unsafe public spaces on women’s human capital attainment through their choice of college. Combining survey data from students attending the University of Delhi, a mapping of actual and potential travel routes to all colleges in students’ admission choice set, and mobile-application safety data from Delhi, I find that, relative to men with comparable choice sets, women choose colleges that are 20 percent lower in the college-quality distribution because of travel-safety concerns. These large effects have implications for other economic decisions, such as women’s participation in the labor force.

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