@TechReport{iza:izadps:dp18884,
            	author={Martins, Pedro S. and Silva, Pedro Luís and Temudo, Madalena and Pinho, Ana},
            	title={The Employment–Education Trade-off in School-Based Vocational Education: Evidence from Peers’ Choices},
            	year={2026},
	month={Aug},
            	institution={Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)},
            	address={Bonn},
            	type={IZA Discussion Paper},
            	number={18884},
            	url={https://www.iza.org/publications/dp18884},
	abstract={Vocational education and training (VET) may accelerate employment transitions at the cost of reducing further education participation. We quantify this trade-off in a school-based VET system, drawing on linked administrative and survey data in Portugal. We use the share of lower-secondary classmates who subsequently choose upper-secondary VET as an instrument for individual VET enrollment. We find a pronounced trade-off in early post-school transitions: vocational enrollment increases employment by 26-34 percentage points and improves several job quality indicators; however, VET reduces further education participation by 30-40 percentage points and is associated with higher unemployment.},
	keywords={school-to-work transition;peer choices;school-based vocational education;NEET;job quality},
            }