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Rethinking the Benefits of Youth Employment Programs: The Heterogeneous Effects of Summer Jobs

Author

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  • Jonathan M.V. Davis

    (University of Oregon)

  • Sara B. Heller

    (University of Michigan and NBER)

Abstract

This paper reports the results of two randomized field experiments, each offering different populations of Chicago youth a supported summer job. The program consistently reduces violent-crime arrests, even after the summer, without improving employment, schooling, or other arrests; if anything, property crime increases over two to three years. Using a new machine learning method, we uncover heterogeneity in employment impacts that standard methods would miss, describe who benefits, and leverage the heterogeneity to explore mechanisms. We conclude that brief youth employment programs can generate important behavioral change, but for different outcomes, youth, and reasons than those most often considered in the literature.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:102:y:2020:i:4:p:664-677
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anderson, Michael L, 2008. "Multiple Inference and Gender Differences in the Effects of Early Intervention: A Reevaluation of the Abecedarian, Perry Preschool, and Early Training Projects," Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley, Working Paper Series qt15n8j26f, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley.
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    9. 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.
    10. Anderson, Michael L., 2008. "Multiple Inference and Gender Differences in the Effects of Early Intervention: A Reevaluation of the Abecedarian, Perry Preschool, and Early Training Projects," Journal of the American Statistical Association, American Statistical Association, vol. 103(484), pages 1481-1495.
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