Abstract:
This work examines the effect of internships on academic outcomes, academic performance
and number of credits selected, using a panel dataset from a public university in Ecuador.
My approach consists of a difference-in-differences design in which I use a new estimator
robust to heterogeneous and dynamic effects. The treatment consists of whether a student
takes an internship program during his or her semester of classes. The results indicate
that, on average, internships have a positive effect on students’ academic performance of
approximately 0.27 academic points (3.8% of academic performance mean). The evidence
suggests that internships during class break are the best option for academic outcomes, since
they have a greater average aggregate effect on academic performance and, although they
decrease the number of credits selected, it is less than when internships are taken during
classes. These results are robust across several specifications. In summary, as a policy
alternative, the results suggest that it is preferable to take programs of this type in periods
when students do not have to spend their time taking class hours.
