The Effect of Employment while in High School on Educational Attainment: A Conditional Difference‐in‐Differences Approach* |
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| Authors: | Franz Buscha Arnaud Maurel Lionel Page Stefan Speckesser |
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| Affiliation: | 1. University of Westminster, Westminster Business School, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS, UK (e‐mail: buschaf@wmin.ac.uk);2. Department of Economics, Duke University, 213 Social Sciences Durham NC 27708‐0097, USA;3. CREST and IZA (e‐mail: arnaud@amaurel.net);4. Queensland University of Technology, School of Economics and Finance, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane QLD 4001, Australia (e‐mail: lionel.page@qut.edu.au);5. Institute for Employment Studies, Sovereign House, Church Street, Brighton BN1 1UJ, UK (e‐mail: stefan.speckesser@employment‐studies.co.uk) |
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| Abstract: | Using American panel data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, this article investigates the effect of working during grade 12 on attainment. We employ, for the first time in the related literature, a semiparametric propensity score matching approach combined with difference‐in‐differences. We address selection on both observables and unobservables associated with part‐time work decisions, without the need for instrumental variable. Once such factors are controlled for, little to no effects on reading and math scores are found. Overall, our results therefore suggest a negligible academic cost from part‐time working by the end of high school. |
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| Keywords: | J24 J22 J21 |
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