Two recent studies highlight the positive impact Title IX has had on the lives of girls and women, reports the New York Times. Interestingly, both studies are by economists.
Betsey Stevenson, an economist at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, studied state-by-state data in an effort to determine a cause and effect relationship between high school sports participation and achievement later in life. From the Times article:
Using a complex analysis, Dr. Stevenson showed that increasing girls’ sports participation had a direct effect on women’s education and employment. She found that the changes set in motion by Title IX explained about 20 percent of the increase in women’s education and about 40 percent of the rise in employment for 25-to-34-year-old women.
“It’s not just that the people who are going to do well in life play sports, but that sports help people do better in life,” she said, adding, “While I only show this for girls, it’s reasonable to believe it’s true for boys as well.”
Robert Kaestner, an economics professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, found that increased participation in physical activity encouraged by the passage of Title IX resulted in a 7 percent lower risk of obesity for women once they were in their late 30s and early 40s.
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