Parental job loss from layoffs and business failures that occur when youth complete high school are found to
be negatively related with enrollment at university and community college. Estimates using longitudinal
data on Canadian youth and their parents are employed to identify both immediate and lagged effects of
parental job loss on education enrollment. Parental job losses are also followed by significant falls in parental
income. If the main pathway by which parental job loss affects youth education outcomes is via these income
reductions, it that implies financial constraints on post-secondary education enrollment are important.
© 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.