We study the effectiveness of nonexperimental strategies in adjusting for comparison group differences when using data from several programs, each implemented at a different location, to compare their effect if implemented at alternative locations. First, we adjust for individual characteristics...

Youth unemployment in Latin America is exceptionally high, as much as 50% among the poor. Vocational training may be the best chance to help unemployed young people at the bottom of the income distribution. This paper evaluates the impact of a randomized training program for disadvantaged youth...

Based on local variations in vocational rehabilitation (VR) priorities, we examine the impacts of alternative VR programs on short- and long-term labor market outcomes for temporary disability insurance (TDI) claimants in Norway. The analysis builds on rich and detailed administrative registers...

Failure of participants to complete training programs is pervasive in existing active labor market programs, both in developed and developing countries. From a policy perspective, it is of interest to know if dropouts benefit from the time they spend in training since these programs require...

The migration–trade link has been studied extensively since the mid nineties, finding a positive impact through different channels. Based on the generalized propensity score (GPS) methodology, we estimate a dose–response function, depicting a non-linear impact of immigration on exports using...

This chapter considers methods for evaluating the impact of social programs in the presence of nonrandom program placement or program selection. It first presents the evaluation problem as a missing data problem and then considers various solutions proposed in the statistics and econometrics...

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether civilian disability pensions have been used as an antipoverty measure in Italy. We applied a classic panel analysis, followed by a two step GMM (Generalized Method of Moments) analysis in which we introduced the spatial variable, to Italian...

Children in households reporting the receipt of free or reduced-price school meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) are more likely to have negative health outcomes than observationally similar nonparticipants. Assessing causal effects of the program is made difficult, however,...

This paper provides new estimates of the medium and long-term impacts of Head Start on the health and behavioral problems of its participants. We identify these impacts using discontinuities in the probability of participation induced by program eligibility rules. Our strategy allows us to...

The main goal of secondary school education in developed countries is to prepare students for higher education and the labor market. That demands high investments in study duration and specialized fields to meet rising skill requirements. However, these demands for more education are in...