Estimating the Effect of Training on Employment and Unemployment Durations: Evidence from Experimental Data

48 Pages Posted: 27 Apr 2000 Last revised: 11 Sep 2022

See all articles by John C. Ham

John C. Ham

National University of Singapore (NUS) - Department of Economics

Robert LaLonde

University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy (deceased); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) (deceased); IZA Institute of Labor Economics (deceased)

Date Written: November 1991

Abstract

Using data from a social experiment, we estimate the impact of training on the duration of employment and unemployment spells for AFDC recipients. Although an experimental design eliminates the need to construct a comparison group for this analysis, simple comparisons between the average durations or the transition rates of treatments' and controls' employment and unemployment spells lead to biased estimates of the effects of training. We present and implement several econometric approaches that demonstrate the importance of and correct for these biases. For the training program studied in the paper, we find that it raised employment rates because employment durations increased. In contrast, training did not lead to shorter unemployment spells.

Suggested Citation

Ham, John C. and LaLonde, Robert J., Estimating the Effect of Training on Employment and Unemployment Durations: Evidence from Experimental Data (November 1991). NBER Working Paper No. w3912, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=227364

John C. Ham (Contact Author)

National University of Singapore (NUS) - Department of Economics ( email )

1 Arts Link, AS2 #06-02
Singapore 117570, Singapore 119077
Singapore

Robert J. LaLonde

University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy (deceased)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) (deceased)

IZA Institute of Labor Economics (deceased)

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