J-Pal, July 2025
As teenagers become more independent and begin to make decisions about how to continue their education or enter the workforce, the opportunities and support available during this time can influence their long-term trajectories, both positively and negatively. For example, teenagers who have access to early employment experiences are more likely to earn more later in life whereas those who have contact with the juvenile justice system are more likely to be incarcerated as adults. Summer Youth Employment Programs (SYEP), or jurisdictional programs that provide 14–24 year olds with paid employment over the summer, have been shown by rigorous research across multiple cities to be a cost-effective way of improving a wide range of criminal justice, academic, and employment outcomes for youth.
I have three boys, all of whom are now legal adults and gainfully employed—one of them living entirely on his own. But, looking back to their early teenage years, it wasn’t always clear that they were on the path toward self-sufficiency. What changed? Summer job experiences yielded a marked improvement for them. Since then, my research lab has successfully engaged in a ten year partnership with the Boston Office of Workforce Development that has yielded robust evidence on the impacts of summer jobs, led to improvements in program efficiency and equity, large increases in funding, and a Mayor’s Youth Jobs Guarantee.
