The Educational and Personal Consequences of Adolescent Employment

Abstract

This article examines the short-term educational and personal consequences of youth employment and develops a conceptual distinction between time-allocation and socialization effects. Results demonstrate that much of the adverse effect of youth employment on academic outcomes (grades and time spent on homework) found in previous research is attributable to preexisting differences among youth who elect to work at various intensities. The findings also reveal a positive time-allocation effect of youth employment: the more youth work, the more they decrease the time they spend watching television relative to other students. The article discusses the implications of these findings for longer-term stratification.