Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Massachusetts Workforce Development System Using No-Shows as a Nonexperimental Comparison Group

Steven Raphael and Michael A. Stoll
Additional contact information
Steven Raphael: Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley
Michael A. Stoll: School of Public Policy and Social Research, University of California, Los Angeles

Evaluation Review, 2006, vol. 30, issue 4, 379-429

Abstract: This article examines the effect of the Massachusetts workforce development system on the earnings of disadvantaged adults using nonexperimental data from the late 1990s. The authors construct a comparison sample for program participants using individuals who apply for and are offered services yet do not participate in a training program. They present a series of difference-in-difference estimates that make several alternative efforts to correct for selectivity bias, including econometric models that regression adjust for observable characteristics and fixed-effect models that adjust for time-invariant person effects. They also employ probabilistic matching techniques to more finely align the treatment and comparison samples. On average, program participants experienced 20% increases in annual earnings 1 year postintervention and 25% increases after 2 years. The authors uncover considerable heterogeneity in these effects, suggesting that the most difficult to serve and the most job ready benefit the least.

Keywords: job training; nonexperimental evaluation; propensity score (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0193841X05282268 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:evarev:v:30:y:2006:i:4:p:379-429

DOI: 10.1177/0193841X05282268

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Evaluation Review
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().