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Does Student Work Really Affect Educational Outcomes? A Review of the Literature

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  • Neyt, Brecht

    (Ghent University)

  • Omey, Eddy

    (Ghent University)

  • Verhaest, Dieter

    (KU Leuven)

  • Baert, Stijn

    (Ghent University)

Abstract

We review the theories put forward, methodological approaches used, and empirical conclusions found in the multidisciplinary literature on the relationship between student employment and educational outcomes. A systematic comparison of the empirical work yields new insights that go beyond the overall reported negative effect of more intensive working schemes and that are of high academic and policy relevance. One such insight uncovered by our review is that student employment seems to have a more adverse effect on educational choices and behaviour (study engagement and the decision to continue studying) than on educational performance (in particular, graduation).

Suggested Citation

  • Neyt, Brecht & Omey, Eddy & Verhaest, Dieter & Baert, Stijn, 2017. "Does Student Work Really Affect Educational Outcomes? A Review of the Literature," IZA Discussion Papers 11023, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11023
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    2. Uzma Ahmad & Steven McIntosh & Gurleen Popli, 2022. "Selection and performance in post‐compulsory education," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 3-31, February.
    3. Claire Wladis & Alyse C. Hachey & Katherine Conway, 2024. "It’s About Time: The Inequitable Distribution of Time as a Resource for College, by Gender and Race/Ethnicity," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 65(7), pages 1614-1646, November.
    4. Bičáková, Alena & Cortes, Guido Matias & Mazza, Jacopo, 2023. "Make your own luck: The wage gains from starting college in a bad economy," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    5. Maria Esther Oswald-Egg & Ursula Renold, 2019. "No Experience, No Employment: The Effect of Vocational Education and Training Work Experience on Labour Market Outcomes after Higher Education," KOF Working papers 19-469, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
    6. Lyubimov, Ivan & Lysyuk, Maria, 2018. "Schooling ain't learning in Russia either: High level of student employment as an indicator for slow human capital accumulation," BOFIT Policy Briefs 1/2018, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    7. Kroupova, Katerina & Havranek, Tomas & Irsova, Zuzana, 2024. "Student Employment and Education: A Meta-Analysis," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    8. 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).
    9. Lesner, Rune Vammen & Damm, Anna Piil & Bertelsen, Preben & Pedersen, Mads Uffe, 2022. "The Effect of School-Year Employment on Cognitive Skills, Risky Behavior, and Educational Achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    10. Vivi Just-Noerregaard & Johan Hviid Andersen & Ellen Aagaard Nohr & Jesper Medom Vestergaard & Trine Nohr Winding, 2021. "How does engagement in society in adolescence affect educational attainment and employment in early adulthood: A prospective cohort study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(4), pages 1-18, April.
    11. Oswald-Egg, Maria Esther & Renold, Ursula, 2021. "No experience, no employment: The effect of vocational education and training work experience on labour market outcomes after higher education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    12. María José Portillo-Navarro & Gabriela Lagos-Rodríguez & María-Leticia Meseguer-Santamaría, 2022. "Employability of University Graduates with Disabilities in Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-14, January.
    13. Baert, Stijn & Neyt, Brecht & Omey, Eddy & Verhaest, Dieter, 2017. "Student Work, Educational Achievement, and Later Employment: A Dynamic Approach," IZA Discussion Papers 11127, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Sorana Mihaela Saveanu & Florica Stefanescu, 2019. "Working or Learning? Working Students in the Romanian-Hungarian Cross-Border Area," Revista romaneasca pentru educatie multidimensionala - Journal for Multidimensional Education, Editura Lumen, Department of Economics, vol. 11(4), pages 248-277, December.
    15. Ivana Cavar, 2018. "Characteristics of Student Employment in Croatia," Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems - scientific journal, Croatian Interdisciplinary Society Provider Homepage: http://indecs.eu, vol. 16(1), pages 60-70.
    16. Rune V. Lesner & Anna Piil Damm & Preben Bertelsen & Mads Uffe Pedersen, 2018. "Life Skills Development of Teenagers through Spare-Time Jobs," Economics Working Papers 2018-09, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    17. Acuna, Julio & Balza, Lenin H. & Gomez-Parra, Nicolas, 2024. "From wells to wealth? Government transfers and human capital," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    self-selection; education; student employment; review;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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