The Impact of Short-Term Employment for Low-Income Youth: Experimental Evidence from the Philippines

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Beam, Emily A.; Quimbo, Stella
• 署名单位: University of Vermont
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_01135
• 发表日期: 2023-11
• 页码: 1379-1393
• 关键词: labor-market policies; outcomes; work

摘要

We use a randomized field experiment to test the causal impact of short-term work experience on employment and school enrollment among disadvantaged, in-school youth in the Philippines. This experience leads to a 4.4 percentage point (79%) increase in employment eight to twelve months later. Although we find no aggregate increase in enrollment, we also do not find that the employment gains push youth out of school. Our results are most consistent with work experience serving as a signal of unobservable applicant quality, and these findings highlight the role of temporary work as a stepping stone to employment for low-income youth.