Abstract
AbstractLeaving school to work trades off schooling with on‐the‐job human capital acquisition. How do industry shocks impact how youth make this trade‐off? Exploiting the geography of natural resources, I estimate the effect of oil and gas job prospects on college and work outcomes. Using CPS data, I find that these job opportunities decrease college‐going for men but not women. I next assess the importance of this schooling loss for later outcomes using longitudinal geocoded NLSY79 data. I find permanent declines in college attainment but gains in employment and earnings at ages 25–30, driven by cohorts who reach college age during industry booms. The results suggest that informal human capital can compensate for schooling loss for the men who leave school for oil and gas work. They speak to the need for further research on non‐college work as a form of human capital investment outside of the traditional college pathway.
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