American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
The Effects of Working While in School: Evidence from Employment Lotteries
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 15,
no. 1, January 2023
(pp. 383–410)
Abstract
Does working while in school smooth students' transition into the labor market? We provide evidence on this question by leveraging a one-year work-study program that randomized job offers among over 90,000 student applicants in Uruguay. Program rules forbade employers from employing participants in the same job after program completion, and less than 5 percent of participants ever worked in the same firm again. Two years after the program, participants had 8 percent higher earnings. Our results suggest that the program's focus on work-related skills was a key mechanism for earnings impacts.Citation
Le Barbanchon, Thomas, Diego Ubfal, and Federico Araya. 2023. "The Effects of Working While in School: Evidence from Employment Lotteries." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 15 (1): 383–410. DOI: 10.1257/app.20210041Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I21 Analysis of Education
- I26 Returns to Education
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration