Abstract
This study explores how the rise in service jobs impacts educational outcomes in Italy. We identify exogenous variation in the demand for service jobs using shocks to the tourism industry caused by terrorist attacks abroad. We find that an exogenous increase in tourist arrivals decreases college enrollment and completion rates. The decline in enrollment is primarily caused by fewer students entering the humanities and social sciences. Both men and women affected by the shock respond by reducing enrollment and completion. While men tend to respond temporarily to take advantage of the higher labor demand, women, who are more prevalent in the tourism sector, experience a permanent impact. Investigating the mechanism we find a positive effect on employment in the tourism sector and on total employment. This result follows from an increase in labor force participation rather than a decline in unemployment.
Keywords: Â service occupations, tourism, human capital, college enrollment, field of study
JEL Codes: I25, J24, L83, Z32.
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