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Does relative age at the onset of compulsory education affects the speed and quality of one’s transition from school to work?

Author

Listed:
  • Luca Fumarco

    (Tulane University)

  • Alessandro Vandromme

    (Ghent University)

  • Levi Halewyck

    (Ghent University)

  • Eline Moens

    (Ghent University)

  • Stijn Baert

    (Ghent University)

Abstract

We are the first to estimate the impact of relative age (i.e., the difference in classmates’ ages) on both speed and quality of individuals’ transition from education to the labour market. Moreover, we are the first to explore whether and how this impact passes through characteristics of students’ educational career. We use rich data pertaining to schooling and to labour market outcomes one year after graduation to conduct instrumental variables analyses. We find that a one-year increase in relative age decreases the likelihood of having a school delay at sixteen and attending vocational high-school, while it increases the likelihood of having a student job. Furthermore, we find that a one-year increase in relative age increases the likelihood of (i) being employed by 3.5 percentage points, (ii) having a permanent contract by 5.1 percentage points, and (iii) having full-time employment by 6.5 percentage points. We find no effect on the likelihood of obtaining a job that matches one’s educational level. Finally, we find that only 8 percent to 14 percent of relative age effects on the likelihood of being employed and on full-time employment pass through educational attainments. Moreover, the mediator role of having a student job is as important as that of standard educational outcomes. The impact of relative age on student’s job and, in turn, its impact on the labour market was previously neglected.

Suggested Citation

  • Luca Fumarco & Alessandro Vandromme & Levi Halewyck & Eline Moens & Stijn Baert, 2021. "Does relative age at the onset of compulsory education affects the speed and quality of one’s transition from school to work?," Working Papers 2112, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:tul:wpaper:2112
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    File URL: http://repec.tulane.edu/RePEc/pdf/tul2112.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Van Belle, Eva & Caers, Ralf & Cuypers, Laure & De Couck, Marijke & Neyt, Brecht & Van Borm, Hannah & Baert, Stijn, 2020. "What do student jobs on graduate CVs signal to employers?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    relative age; school starting age; labour market transition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers

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