title: Evaluating the effectiveness of the Massachusetts workforce development system using no-shows as a nonexperimental comparison group.
abstract: This article examines the effect of the Massachusetts workforce development system on the earnings of disadvantaged adults using nonexperimental data from the late 1990s. The authors construct a comparison sample for program participants using individuals who apply for and are offered services yet do not participate in a training program. They present a series of difference-in-difference estimates that make several alternative efforts to correct for selectivity bias, including econometric models that regression adjust for observable characteristics and fixed-effect models that adjust for time-invariant person effects. They also employ probabilistic matching techniques to more finely align the treatment and comparison samples. On average, program participants experienced 20% increases in annual earnings 1 year postintervention and 25% increases after 2 years. The authors uncover considerable heterogeneity in these effects, suggesting that the most difficult to serve and the most job ready benefit the least.
authors.affiliation: Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley, USA.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Raphael
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Stoll
mesh_terms: D004493:Education; D004651:Employment / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008404:Massachusetts; D017059:Models, Econometric; D015233:Models, Statistical; D012923:Social Class