Evaluations

Researchers studied the impact of a summer jobs program in Chicago on crime, education, and employment. The program dramatically reduced violent-crime arrests, including in the following school year, though it did not influence schooling or formal employment, and may have increased property crime in...

Researchers randomly assigned employees at garment factories in Bangladesh to either continue collecting their wages in cash, receive direct deposit wage payments into a payroll account, or receive an account but continued to receive wage payments in cash. Exposure to payroll accounts led to...

In sub-Saharan Africa, youth unemployment is expected to reach 50 percent by 2025. One reason for high unemployment among this group is that youth may live geographically far from where many jobs are located, making traveling to search for employment difficult and expensive. Researchers conducted a...

Youth living in poor urban areas face a number of psychological and social barriers to finding work. In France, over 40 percent of these youth are unemployed, twice as much the national youth unemployment rate. Researchers partnered with the French Public Employment Services to test the...

In collaboration with Egypt’s Ministry of Social Solidarity (MoSS), researchers are conducting a randomized evaluation to test the impact of providing women with childcare subsidies and employment services on their employment and empowerment outcomes, as well as their children’s cognitive and...

Researchers used a randomized evaluation to measure the impact of a government program that gave groups of young people US$400 per person in return for a proposal to start a skilled trade. Recipients invested the cash and significantly increased their incomes for several years. However, nine years...

Fostering youth entrepreneurship could help decrease youth unemployment. However, entrepreneurs face a number of barriers to launching and expanding their businesses. Researchers introduced a youth entrepreneurship reality TV show to evaluate the effects of a television show and entrepreneurial...

Vocational training is often advocated as a means of maintaining and improving the qualifications of the labor force. However, it is also possible that time spent in vocational training simply displaces time spent working or looking for employment. Researchers evaluated the impact of a vocational...