Employers around the world complain that youth lack the soft skills needed for success in the workplace. In response, a number of employment programs have begun to incorporate soft skills training, but to date there has been little evidence as to the effectiveness of such programs. This paper...

Improving youth labor market outcomes is a primary concern for countries around the world. We conduct a randomized controlled trial in Tanzania on an intense gender-sensitive skills training program that worked with over 53,000 youth in the region. After two years, we find the program increased...

This study explores sex differences in language and socio-emotional skills. It focuses on children 7 months old to 6 years old in Chile in 2012 and Nicaragua in 2013. A focus on young children allowed for ruling out a set of environmental and identity effects to explain the gap. Females had an...

This study explores sex differences in language and socio-emotional skills on children 7 months to 6 years old in Latin-America. Females had a significant advantage in both dimensions. To our knowledge, this is the first study to document sex differences in these dimensions at a very young age....

The labor market can be a daunting place for young graduates; this paper aims to shed light on how they navigate it. By examining the ways in which they enter the workforce and the impact of individual and socioeconomic factors on their career paths, we gain a deeper understanding of the...

A randomized controlled trial with 945 entrepreneurs in Jamaica shows positive short-term impacts of soft-skills training on business outcomes. The effects are concentrated among men and disappear 12 months after the training. The main channel is increased adoption of recommended business...

A randomized control trial with 945 entrepreneurs in Jamaica shows positive shortterm impacts of soft-skills training on business outcomes. The effects are concentrated among men, and disappear twelve months after the training. We argue that the main channel is increased adoption of recommended...

We conduct a correspondence study to assess demand for soft skills in the context of hiring discrimination in Malaysia. We find no evidence of gender-based discrimination, including in STEM occupations. However, in line with previous studies in the same context, we find evidence of ethnic...

We show that a number of “noncognitive” skills and preferences, including patience and identity, are malleable in adults, and that investments in them reduce crime and violence. We recruited criminally-engaged men and randomized half to eight weeks of cognitive behavioral therapy designed to...