Studies on women's education often use indicators of social practices as proxies for social norms but fail to account for three critical features of norms: they are latent, multifaceted, and shaped by external factors. To address these gaps, the study employ the MIMIC (Multiple Indicators and Multiple Causes) model within a structural equation framework. This method enables the inclusion of various social practices, each serving as an imperfect representation of an underlying norm, while also identifying exogenous factors that can drive changes in these norms.

“No Pass No Drive” (NPND) laws revoke or deny driver’s licenses to minors who drop out of school, are frequent truants, exhibit behavioral issues, or perform poorly academically. By analyzing Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrest data and leveraging state, time, and cohort variations, the researchers find that NPND laws are linked to a significant reduction in total crime, DUI, and property crimes among males aged 16 to 18, as well as a decline in DUIs among females in the same age group.

This study investigates the impact of groundwater contamination on educational outcomes in India, using variations in the geographical coverage and timing of safe government piped water schemes. The study is based on survey data from public schools in Assam, one of India’s most groundwater-contaminated regions. It is found that prolonged exposure to unsafe groundwater is linked to increased absenteeism, grade retention, and lower test scores and CGPA. Additionally, the researchers use a nationally representative household survey to study the effect of arsenic contamination.