Three essays on the impact of public policies on the health and educational outcomes of young adults

Abstract

Young adulthood is a critical time in the life course when access to resources and opportunities help determine later in life outcomes. To contribute to the research on young adults, this dissertation uses restricted health and education data, as well as quasiexperimental and descriptive analyses to evaluate how two public polices improve outcomes for young adults. The first essay focuses on effects on young adults' health outcomes, while the second and third chapters focus on impacts to educational outcomes and opportunities. Together, these chapters highlight the important role public policies can play in improving outcomes for disadvantaged groups.