Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/282664 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 16537
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Governments around the developing world face pressure to intervene actively to help jobseekers find employment. Two of the most common policies used are job training, based on the idea that many of those seeking jobs lack the skills employers want, and job search assistance, based on the possibility that even if workers have the skills demanded, search and matching frictions make it difficult for workers to be hired in the jobs that need these skills. However, reviews of the first generation of evaluations of these programs found typical impacts to be small, casting doubt on the usefulness and cost-effectiveness of these programs. This paper reexamines the arguments for whether, when, and how developing country governments should undertake job training and job search assistance policies. The authors use their experience with policy implementation, and evidence from recent impact evaluations, to argue that there is still a role for governments in using these programs. However, success depends critically on program design and delivery elements that can be difficult to scale effectively, and in many cases the binding constraint may be a lack of firms with job openings, rather than a lack of workers with the skills to fill these openings.
Subjects: 
active labor market policies
job search assistance
job training
JEL: 
J22
J23
J24
J64
M53
O12
O15
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
791.54 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.