Abstract
Puberty is the most important developmental milestone closely preceding a young adult’s labor market decisions. Thus, we examine the variation in the timing of physical maturity during adolescence to isolate its impact on employment and hourly wages for US young adults. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health data, we find an early maturity premium of about 6% for females and 8% for males, but no employment effects, in excess of gains from height and physical attractiveness. Cognitive and personality factors significantly explain this premium for both genders, but job attributes are also important for males.
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