The medium-term impact of entrepreneurship education on labor market outcomes: Experimental evidence from university graduates in Tunisia

Jumana Alaref, Stefanie Brodmann and Patrick Premand

Labour Economics, 2020, vol. 62, issue C

Abstract: Despite the widespread popularity of entrepreneurship education, there is thin evidence on its effectiveness in improving employment outcomes over the medium to long-term. A potential time lag between entrepreneurial intentions and actions is sometimes presented as a reason why employment impacts are rarely observed. Based on a randomized control trial among university students in Tunisia, this paper studies the medium-term impacts of entrepreneurship education four years after students’ graduation. The paper complements earlier evidence that documented small short-term impacts on entry into self-employment and aspirations toward the future one year after graduation. The medium-term results show that the impacts of entrepreneurship education were short-lived. The intervention led to a temporary increase in business ideas and in nascent entrepreneurship. However, there is no sustained impact on self-employment or employment outcomes four years after graduation. The intervention induced some lasting impacts on business knowledge, but not on business networks. A large share of graduates reports financial constraints as the most prevailing barrier to entrepreneurship.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship education; Training; Self-employment; Skills; Field experiment; Randomized control trial (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

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Working Paper: The Medium-Term Impact of Entrepreneurship Education on Labor Market Outcomes: Experimental Evidence from University Graduates in Tunisia (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:labeco:v:62:y:2020:i:c:s092753711930123x

DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2019.101787

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