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Title: Get a Job and Keep It! High School Employment and Adult Wealth Accumulation
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Painter, Matthew A. II
Get a Job and Keep It! High School Employment and Adult Wealth Accumulation
Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 28,2 (June 2010): 233-249.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0276562410000132
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Assets; Employment, Part-Time; High School Employment; Home Ownership; Human Capital; Transition, Adulthood; Wealth; Work Experience

Wealth inequality receives substantial scholarly attention, but mounting evidence suggests that childhood and adolescent traits and experiences contribute to financial disparities in the United States. This study examines the relationship between adolescent labor force participation and adult wealth accumulation. I argue that employed high school students gain practical life skills, abilities, and knowledge from work experience and business exposure that shape investment decisions and affect overall net worth. I use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 cohort, to empirically explore this idea. This study extends the wealth literature by identifying adolescent employment as an important mechanism that improves adult net worth and financial well-being.
Bibliography Citation
Painter, Matthew A. II. "Get a Job and Keep It! High School Employment and Adult Wealth Accumulation ." Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 28,2 (June 2010): 233-249.