Is High School Employment Consumption or Investment?

Christopher Ruhm

No 5030, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this study examines whether employment by high school students improves or worsens economic attainment 6 to 9 years after the scheduled date of high school graduation. There is no indication that light to moderate job commitments ever have a detrimental impact and hours worked during the senior grade are positively correlated with future earnings, fringe benefits, and occupational status. These results are robust across a variety of specifications and suggest that employment increases net investments in human capital and facilitates the school- to-work transition, particularly towards the end of high school and for students not continuing on to college.

JEL-codes: I2 J2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1995-02
Note: LS
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Published as Journal of Labor Economics, Vol. 113, no. 1 (February 1998): 285-317.

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