Evaluations

Policy Publications

Search our database of policy briefcases, bulletins, and evidence reviews. Briefcases summarize the results and policy recommendations from one randomized evaluation, while bulletins synthesize the broader policy lessons emerging from multiple evaluations on the same topic. Evidence reviews summarize an existing academic literature review, like a handbook chapter or white paper, for a policy audience.

Displaying 1-5 of 5
female worker operating industrial machine

Evidence in Labor Market Policies and Implications for Brazil: Job Training Programs

Last Updated:
Last Updated:
November 30, 2022
Skills are important for accessing high-quality jobs and being more productive. However, in Brazil and other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, many people neither receive adequate training nor develop skills that are demanded in the labor market. This publication—produced in co...
Students smiling looking at white board

Sectoral Employment Programs as a Path to Quality Jobs: Lessons from Randomized Evaluations

Last Updated:
Last Updated:
February 22, 2022
J-PAL North America’s Sectoral Employment Evidence Review summarizes an academic paper that examines four randomized evaluations of sectoral employment programs and describes the mechanisms behind their success.
Woman selling bread at a market. Myriam B | Shutterstock

Inspiring Success: Personalized Trainings for Microenterprises

Last Updated:
Last Updated:
August 1, 2019
An randomized evaluation found that adding sessions with role models and individualized assistance to intensive training courses for microentrepreneurs increased their household incomes, mainly through improved business practices and performances
Man and woman receiving job counseling in France

Public or Private? Job Counseling in France

Last Updated:
Last Updated:
August 1, 2015
An intensive counseling program for job seekers at risk of long-term unemployment in France helped them find work sooner than the standard low-intensity counseling program, and the counseling was more effective when provided by a public agency than by private contractors.
A young adult repairs a desktop computer.

Job Placement and Displacement

Last Updated:
Last Updated:
April 1, 2013
Career counseling for young, college-educated job seekers in France helped them find work sooner, but this improvement came at the expense of jobs for those who did not receive counseling, and it did not translate into a long-term increase in employment rates.