Nº 10 (June, 2004). María Victoria Fazio.

This paper studies the effects of employment on academic performance. To analyze this relationship, we use data from the 1994 First Census of national universities for Argentina, which provides mixed results similar to the existing literature. On the one hand, when specifying a linear model, the amount of hours spent working have a negative impact on achievement. On the other hand, for a moderate amount of hours worked, the relationship may actually be positive. Additionally, when considering only students who work in their field of study, there is evidence of non-linearities and positive effects are found for those who work more. In contrast, effects are negative for students whose employment is not related to their studies, regardless of the amount of time allocated to work. This empirical evidence provides support for university legislation which governs internships as to which conditions help students uphold their academic performance.

JEL Code: I21, I28, J31