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Making summer matter: The impact of youth employment on academic performance

Author

Listed:
  • Amy Ellen Schwartz
  • Jacob Leos‐Urbel
  • Joel McMurry
  • Matthew Wiswall

Abstract

This paper examines New York City's Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). SYEP provides jobs to youth ages 14–24, and due to high demand for summer jobs, allocates slots through a random lottery system. We match student‐level data from the SYEP program with educational records from the NYC Department of Education and use the random lottery to estimate the effects of SYEP participation on a number of academic outcomes, including test taking and performance. We find that SYEP participation has positive impacts on student academic outcomes, and these effects are particularly large for students who participate in SYEP multiple times.

Suggested Citation

  • Amy Ellen Schwartz & Jacob Leos‐Urbel & Joel McMurry & Matthew Wiswall, 2021. "Making summer matter: The impact of youth employment on academic performance," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 12(2), pages 477-504, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:quante:v:12:y:2021:i:2:p:477-504
    DOI: 10.3982/QE883
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alexander Gelber & Adam Isen & Judd B. Kessler, 2014. "The Effects of Youth Employment: Evidence from New York City Summer Youth Employment Program Lotteries," NBER Working Papers 20810, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    5. Raj Chetty & John N. Friedman & Jonah E. Rockoff, 2014. "Measuring the Impacts of Teachers I: Evaluating Bias in Teacher Value-Added Estimates," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(9), pages 2593-2632, September.
    6. Jeanne Bellotti & Linda Rosenberg & Samina Sattar & Andrea Mraz Esposito & Jessica Ziegler, "undated". "Reinvesting in America's Youth: Lessons from the 2009 Recovery Act Summer Youth Employment Initiative," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 650fe7340244438ab3c5bda6a, Mathematica Policy Research.
    7. Flavio Cunha & James J. Heckman & Susanne M. Schennach, 2010. "Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(3), pages 883-931, May.
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    9. Schwartz, Amy Ellen & Stiefel, Leanna & Wiswall, Matthew, 2013. "Do small schools improve performance in large, urban districts? Causal evidence from New York City," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 27-40.
    10. Alicia Sasser Modestino, 2019. "How Do Summer Youth Employment Programs Improve Criminal Justice Outcomes, and for Whom?," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(3), pages 600-628, June.
    11. Jonathan M.V. Davis & Sara B. Heller, 2020. "Rethinking the Benefits of Youth Employment Programs: The Heterogeneous Effects of Summer Jobs," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 102(4), pages 664-677, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Arnone, Massimo & Angelillis, Barbara & Costantiello, Alberto & Leogrande, Angelo, 2024. "Graduates, Training and Employment Across the Italian Regions," MPRA Paper 121117, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Knutsson, Daniel & Tyrefors, Björn, 2024. "Labor market effects of a youth summer employment program in Sweden," Working Paper Series 2024:5, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    3. Modestino, Alicia Sasser & Paulsen, Richard J., 2019. "Reducing inequality summer by summer: Lessons from an evaluation of the Boston Summer Youth Employment Program," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 40-53.
    4. Daniel Muir & Cristiana Orlando & Becci Newton, 2024. "Impact of summer programmes on the outcomes of disadvantaged or ‘at risk’ young people: A systematic review," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(2), June.
    5. Heller, Sara B., 2022. "When scale and replication work: Learning from summer youth employment experiments," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    6. Jonathan M.V. Davis & Sara B. Heller, 2017. "Rethinking the Benefits of Youth Employment Programs: The Heterogeneous Effects of Summer Jobs," NBER Working Papers 23443, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Jonathan M.V. Davis & Sara B. Heller, 2020. "Rethinking the Benefits of Youth Employment Programs: The Heterogeneous Effects of Summer Jobs," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 102(4), pages 664-677, October.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy

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