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Door Opener or Waste of Time? The Effects of Student Internships on Labor Market Outcomes

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  • Siedler, Thomas
  • Saniter, Nils
  • Schumann, Mathias

Abstract

This paper studies the causal effect of student internship experience on wages later in life. We use variation in the introduction and abolition of mandatory internships at German universities as an instrument for completing an internship while studying. Employing longitudinal data from graduate surveys, we find positive and significant wage returns of about six percent in both OLS and IV regressions. The positive returns are particularly pronounced for individuals and areas of study that are characterized by a weak labor market orientation, and for graduates in humanities and social sciences.

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  • Siedler, Thomas & Saniter, Nils & Schumann, Mathias, 2016. "Door Opener or Waste of Time? The Effects of Student Internships on Labor Market Outcomes," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145739, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:vfsc16:145739
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    Cited by:

    1. Luc Bridet & Margaret Leighton, 2015. "The Major Decision: Labor Market Implications of the Timing of Specialization in College," Discussion Paper Series, School of Economics and Finance 201510, School of Economics and Finance, University of St Andrews.
    2. Holford, Angus, 2017. "Access to and returns from unpaid graduate internships," ISER Working Paper Series 2017-07, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    3. Dieter Verhaest & Stijn Baert, 2018. "The effects of workplace learning in higher education on employment and match quality: is there an early-career trade-off?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 55(3), pages 1229-1270, November.
    4. Nunley, John M. & Pugh, Adam & Romero, Nicholas & Seals, R. Alan, 2016. "College major, internship experience, and employment opportunities: Estimates from a résumé audit," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 37-46.
    5. Thomas Bolli & Katherine Caves & Maria Esther Oswald-Egg, 2019. "Valuable experience: How internships affect university graduates’ income," KOF Working papers 19-459, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
    6. Chiara Natalie Focacci, 2020. "“You reap what you sow”: Do active labour market policies always increase job security? Evidence from the Youth Guarantee," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 49(3), pages 373-429, June.
    7. John M. Nunley & Adam Pugh & Nicholas Romero & Richard Alan Seals, Jr., 2015. "Unemployment, Underemployment, and Employment Opportunities: Results from a Correspondence Audit," Auburn Economics Working Paper Series auwp2015-13, Department of Economics, Auburn University.
    8. Leighton, Margaret & Speer, Jamin D., 2020. "Labor market returns to college major specificity," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    9. Di Meglio, Gisela & Barge-Gil, Andrés & Camiña, Ester & Moreno, Lourdes, 2019. "Knocking on Employment´s Door: Internships and Job Attainment," MPRA Paper 95712, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Sara Rica & Lucía Gorjón, 2022. "Internship contracts in Spain: a stepping stone or a hurdle towards job stability?," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 51-100, May.
    11. Delavande, Adeline & Del Bono, Emilia & Holford, Angus, 2022. "Academic and non-academic investments at university: The role of expectations, preferences and constraints," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 231(1), pages 74-97.
    12. Cerulli-Harms, Annette, 2017. "Generation Internship: The Impact of Internships on Early Labour Market Performance," IZA Discussion Papers 11163, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Leighton, Margaret & Speer, Jamin D., 2020. "Labor market returns to college major specificity," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    14. Manuel Salas-Velasco, 2024. "Transitioning from the University to the Workplace: A Duration Model with Grouped Data," Stats, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-13, July.
    15. Del Bono, Emilia & Morando, Greta, 2021. "For Some, Luck Matters More: The Impact of the Great Recession on the Early Careers of Graduates from Different Socio-Economic Backgrounds," IZA Discussion Papers 14540, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • A23 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Graduate
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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