Student Employment and Education: A Meta-Analysis

52 Pages Posted: 22 Sep 2021

See all articles by Katerina Kroupova

Katerina Kroupova

Charles University in Prague

Tomas Havranek

Charles University in Prague; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Zuzana Irsova

Charles University in Prague

Date Written: September 2021

Abstract

Educational outcomes have many determinants, but one that most young people can readily control is choosing whether to work while in school. Sixty-nine studies have estimated the effect, but results vary from large negative to positive estimates. We show that the results are systematically driven by context, publication bias, and treatment of endogeneity. Studies ignoring endogeneity suffer from an upward bias, which is almost fully compensated by publication selection in favor of negative estimates. Net of the biases, the literature suggests a negative but economically inconsequential mean effect. The effect is more negative for high-intensity employment and educational outcomes measured as decisions to dropout, but it is positive in Germany. To derive these results we collect 861 previously reported estimates together with 32 variables reflecting estimation context, use recently developed nonlinear techniques to correct for publication bias, and employ Bayesian and frequentist model averaging to assign a pattern to the heterogeneity in the literature.

Keywords: Bayesian model averaging, Educational outcomes, meta-analysis, Publication bias, student employment

JEL Classification: C83, I21, J22

Suggested Citation

Kroupova, Katerina and Havranek, Tomas and Irsova, Zuzana, Student Employment and Education: A Meta-Analysis (September 2021). CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP16550, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3928863

Katerina Kroupova (Contact Author)

Charles University in Prague ( email )

Celetná 13
Praha 1, 116 36
Czech Republic

Tomas Havranek

Charles University in Prague ( email )

Celetná 13
Praha 1, 116 36
Czech Republic

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Zuzana Irsova

Charles University in Prague ( email )

Celetná 13
Praha 1, 116 36
Czech Republic

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