IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp14427.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Can Information about Jobs Improve the Effectiveness of Vocational Training? Experimental Evidence from India

Author

Listed:
  • Chakravorty, Bhaskar

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

  • Arulampalam, Wiji

    (University of Warwick)

  • Bhatiya, Apurav Yash

    (University of Birmingham)

  • Imbert, Clement

    (University of Warwick)

  • Rathelot, Roland

    (ENSAE ParisTech)

Abstract

We use a randomized experiment to evaluate the impact of providing richer information about prospective jobs to vocational trainees on their employment outcomes. The setting of the study is the vocational training program DDU-GKY in India. We find that including in the training two information sessions about placement opportunities make trainees 18% more likely to stay in the jobs in which they are placed. We provide suggestive evidence that the effect is driven by improved selection into training: as a result of the intervention, trainees that are over-optimistic about placement jobs are more likely to drop out before placement.

Suggested Citation

  • Chakravorty, Bhaskar & Arulampalam, Wiji & Bhatiya, Apurav Yash & Imbert, Clement & Rathelot, Roland, 2021. "Can Information about Jobs Improve the Effectiveness of Vocational Training? Experimental Evidence from India," IZA Discussion Papers 14427, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14427
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp14427.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martin Abel & Rulof Burger & Patrizio Piraino, 2017. "The value of reference letters," Working Papers 06/2017, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    2. David McKenzie, 2017. "How Effective Are Active Labor Market Policies in Developing Countries? A Critical Review of Recent Evidence," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 32(2), pages 127-154.
    3. Eliana Carranza & Robert Garlick & Kate Orkin & Neil Rankin, 2020. "Job Search and Hiring with Two-sided Limited Information about Workseekers’ Skills," CSAE Working Paper Series 2020-10, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    4. Maitra, Pushkar & Mani, Subha, 2017. "Learning and earning: Evidence from a randomized evaluation in India," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 116-130.
    5. Alexandre Belloni & Victor Chernozhukov & Christian Hansen, 2011. "Inference on Treatment Effects After Selection Amongst High-Dimensional Controls," Papers 1201.0224, arXiv.org, revised May 2012.
    6. Girum Abebe & A Stefano Caria & Marcel Fafchamps & Paolo Falco & Simon Franklin & Simon Quinn, 2021. "Anonymity or Distance? Job Search and Labour Market Exclusion in a Growing African City [Endogenous Stratification in Randomized Experiments]," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 88(3), pages 1279-1310.
    7. Livia Alfonsi & Oriana Bandiera & Vittorio Bassi & Robin Burgess & Imran Rasul & Munshi Sulaiman & Anna Vitali, 2020. "Tackling Youth Unemployment: Evidence From a Labor Market Experiment in Uganda," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 88(6), pages 2369-2414, November.
    8. David Card & Pablo Ibarrarán & Ferdinando Regalia & David Rosas-Shady & Yuri Soares, 2011. "The Labor Market Impacts of Youth Training in the Dominican Republic," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(2), pages 267-300.
    9. Sarojini Hirshleifer & David McKenzie & Rita Almeida & Cristobal Ridao‐Cano, 2016. "The Impact of Vocational Training for the Unemployed: Experimental Evidence from Turkey," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(597), pages 2115-2146, November.
    10. Matthew Groh & David McKenzie & Nour Shammout & Tara Vishwanath, 2015. "Testing the importance of search frictions and matching through a randomized experiment in Jordan," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-20, December.
    11. Robert Jensen, 2012. "Do Labor Market Opportunities Affect Young Women's Work and Family Decisions? Experimental Evidence from India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(2), pages 753-792.
    12. James Heckman & Neil Hohmann & Jeffrey Smith & Michael Khoo, 2000. "Substitution and Dropout Bias in Social Experiments: A Study of an Influential Social Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(2), pages 651-694.
    13. Chatterjee,Urmila & Murgai,Rinku & Rama,Martin G., 2015. "Job opportunities along the rural-urban gradation and female labor force participation in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7412, The World Bank.
    14. Bhaskar Chakravorty & Arjun S. Bedi, 2019. "Skills Training and Employment Outcomes in Rural Bihar," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 62(2), pages 173-199, June.
    15. Cho, Yoon Y. & Kalomba, Davie & Mobarak, Ahmed Mushfiq & Orozco, Victor, 2013. "Gender Differences in the Effects of Vocational Training: Constraints on Women and Drop-Out Behavior," IZA Discussion Papers 7408, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Simon Franklin, 2018. "Location, Search Costs and Youth Unemployment: Experimental Evidence from Transport Subsidies," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(614), pages 2353-2379, September.
    17. Martin Abel & Rulof Burger & Patrizio Piraino, 2020. "The Value of Reference Letters: Experimental Evidence from South Africa," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 12(3), pages 40-71, July.
    18. Vittorio Bassi & Aisha Nansamba, 2022. "Screening and Signalling Non-Cognitive Skills: Experimental Evidence from Uganda," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(642), pages 471-511.
    19. Betcherman, Gordon & Olivas, Karina & Dar, Amit, 2004. "Impacts of active labor market programs : new evidence from evaluations with particular attention to developing and transition countries," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 29142, The World Bank.
    20. Alexandre Belloni & Victor Chernozhukov & Christian Hansen, 2013. "Supplementary Appendix for "Inference on Treatment Effects After Selection Amongst High-Dimensional Controls"," Papers 1305.6099, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2013.
    21. Abebe, Girum & Caria, Stefano & Fafchamps, Marcel & Falco, Paolo & Franklin, Simon & Quinn, Simon, 2017. "Anonymity of distance? Job search and labour market exclusion in a growing African city," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 86573, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chakravorty, Bhaskar & Bhatiya, Apurav Yash & Imbert, Clément & Lohnert, Maximilian & Panda, Poonam & Rathelot, Roland, 2023. "Impact of the COVID-19 crisis on India’s rural youth: Evidence from a panel survey and an experiment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    2. Samuel Bazzi & Lisa Cameron & Simone Schaner & Firman Witoelar, 2021. "Information, Intermediaries, and International Migration," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2021n30, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    3. Chakravorty, Bhaskar & Bhatiya, Apurav Yash & Imbert, Clément & Lohnert, Maximilian & Panda, Poonam & Rathelot, Roland, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 Crisis on Rural Youth: Evidence from a Panel Survey and an Experiment," GLO Discussion Paper Series 909, Global Labor Organization (GLO).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chakravarty, Shubha & Lundberg, Mattias & Nikolov, Plamen & Zenker, Juliane, 2019. "Vocational training programs and youth labor market outcomes: Evidence from Nepal," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 71-110.
    2. David McKenzie, 2017. "How Effective Are Active Labor Market Policies in Developing Countries? A Critical Review of Recent Evidence," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 32(2), pages 127-154.
    3. Livia Alfonsi & Oriana Bandiera & Vittorio Bassi & Robin Burgess & Imran Rasul & Munshi Sulaiman & Anna Vitali, 2020. "Tackling Youth Unemployment: Evidence From a Labor Market Experiment in Uganda," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 88(6), pages 2369-2414, November.
    4. Crepon,Bruno Jacques Jean Philippe & Premand,Patrick, 2018. "Creating new positions ? direct and indirect effects of a subsidized apprenticeship program," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8561, The World Bank.
    5. Sam Jones & Kunal Sen, 2022. "Labour market effects of digital matching platforms: Experimental evidence from sub-Saharan Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2022-69, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. Chakravarty, Shubha & Lundberg, Mattias & Nikolov, Plamen & Zenker, Juliane, 2019. "Vocational training programs and youth labor market outcomes: Evidence from Nepal," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 71-110.
    7. Armand, Alex & Carneiro, Pedro & Tagliati, Federico & Xia, Yiming, 2020. "Can Subsidized Employment Tackle Long-Term Unemployment? Experimental Evidence from North Macedonia," IZA Discussion Papers 13478, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Beber, Bernd & Dworschak, Regina & Lakemann, Tabea & Lay, Jann & Priebe, Jan, 2021. "Skills Development and Training Interventions in Africa: Findings, Challenges, and Opportunities," RWI Projektberichte, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, number 247426.
    9. Girum Abebe & A Stefano Caria & Marcel Fafchamps & Paolo Falco & Simon Franklin & Simon Quinn, 2021. "Anonymity or Distance? Job Search and Labour Market Exclusion in a Growing African City [Endogenous Stratification in Randomized Experiments]," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 88(3), pages 1279-1310.
    10. Bhaskar Chakravorty & Arjun S. Bedi, 2019. "Skills Training and Employment Outcomes in Rural Bihar," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 62(2), pages 173-199, June.
    11. Stefano Caria & Grant Gordon & Maximilian Kasy & Simon Quinn & Soha Shami & Alexander Teytelboym, 2020. "An Adaptive Targeted Field Experiment: Job Search Assistance for Refugees in Jordan," CESifo Working Paper Series 8535, CESifo.
    12. Girum Abebe & Stefano Caria & Marcel Fafchamps & Paolo Falco & Simon Franklin & Simon Quinn & Forhad Shilpi, 2023. "Matching Frictions and Distorted Beliefs:Evidence from a Job Fair Experiment," Working Papers 958, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    13. Das, Narayan, 2021. "Training the disadvantaged youth and labor market outcomes: Evidence from Bangladesh," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    14. Mathias Allemand & Martina Kirchberger & Sveta Milusheva & Carol Newman & Brent Roberts & Vincent Thorne, 2023. "Conscientiousness and Labor Market Returns: Evidence from a Field Experiment in West Africa," Trinity Economics Papers tep0123, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics.
    15. Santiago Caicedo & Miguel Espinosa & Arthur Seibold, 2022. "Unwilling to Train?—Firm Responses to the Colombian Apprenticeship Regulation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 90(2), pages 507-550, March.
    16. Blattman, Christopher & Dercon, Stefan & Franklin, Simon, 2022. "Impacts of industrial and entrepreneurial jobs on youth: 5-year experimental evidence on factory job offers and cash grants in Ethiopia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    17. Kiss, Andrea & Garlick, Robert & Orkin, Kate & Hensel, Lukas, 2023. "Jobseekers' Beliefs about Comparative Advantage and (Mis)Directed Search," IZA Discussion Papers 16522, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Björn Nilsson, 2019. "The School-to-Work Transition in Developing Countries," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(5), pages 745-764, May.
    19. Maria Laura Alzúa & Soyolmaa Batbekh & Altantsetseg Batchuluun & Bayarmaa Dalkhjav & José Galdo, 2021. "Demand-Driven Youth Training Programs: Experimental Evidence from Mongolia," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 35(3), pages 720-744.
    20. Evan Borkum & Kristen Velyvis & Arif Mamun & Malik Khan Mubeen & Anca Dumitrescu & Ananya Khan, "undated". "Evaluation of MCC's Investments in Community Skills Development Centers in Namibia: Final Report," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 45805b53759348d48f2d0d569, Mathematica Policy Research.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    skills; vocational training; on-the-job-training; dropout; rural development; job placement;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • M53 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Training

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14427. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.