Labor market outcomes of high school athletics participation

This paper examines the effect of high school sports participation on labor market outcomes in the United States. Given that the development of meaningful skills is a worthwhile goal of high school athletics, the goal is to test whether participation in high school athletics succeeds in preparing student-athletes for success long after their playing days. Endogeneity concerns center around individuals possessing characteristics which make them both more likely to participate in high school athletics and are positively correlated with wages. The issue of endogeneity is dealt with both by stratification and propensity score matching. Results show that participation in high school athletics leads to better labor market outcomes, specifically an increase in hourly wages, through its development of meaningful and translatable skills.