What is the best age to enter the labor market in Brazil today?

This study is an attempt to measure the effects of entering the Brazilian labor market at an early age on wages earned as an adult. In a previous study using a pooled data cross section (1988 and 1996), the conclusion was reached that the effect of entering the labor market at an early age is negative for those who begin to work early in life, but it becomes positive for those who start working between the age of 12 and 14. We used a pooled data cross section (2001-2009 and 2011) and found evidence that this age is much higher today, meaning that earnings continue to grow as people enter the labor market after the age of 14. We also found a threshold effect in returns to education with a magnitude that increases as people enter the labor market at older ages.