IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ozl/journl/v11y2008i2p163-185.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic Evaluation of the Training Opportunities Programme in New Zealand

Author

Listed:
  • Geoff Perry

    (Auckland University of Technology)

  • Tim Maloney

    (University of Auckland)

Abstract

It is well accepted that a highly educated and well trained labour force is a precondition for sustained economic growth and development, and that the labour market outcomes for individuals are enhanced with higher levels of education and training. Recognition of these facts has influenced the types of active labour market programmes that are provided for the unemployed by governments throughout the OECD, with particular emphasis on training. In New Zealand, the Training Opportunities scheme, introduced in the early 1990’s, remains today the major active labour market programme for the unemployed. This paper contributes to the literature in two ways. Firstly, the impact on male participants of being involved in Training Opportunities in the mid 1990’s is evaluated. Secondly, short and medium term impacts for men are estimated using Difference-in-Differences matching, with careful attention to methodological concerns. The key findings are that while there is a short term beneficial effect for the programme as a whole, this is not consistent across all sub-groups. Further, the beneficial effect dissipates by the second year after receiving the intervention

Suggested Citation

  • Geoff Perry & Tim Maloney, 2008. "Economic Evaluation of the Training Opportunities Programme in New Zealand," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 11(2), pages 163-185.
    • Handle: RePEc:ozl:journl:v:11:y:2008:i:2:p:163-185
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://ftprepec.drivehq.com/ozl/journl/downloads/AJLE112perry.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gerfin, Michael & Lechner, Michael & Steiger, Heidi, 2005. "Does subsidised temporary employment get the unemployed back to work? Aneconometric analysis of two different schemes," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(6), pages 807-835, December.
    2. Hujer, Reinhard & Caliendo, Marco & Thomsen, Stephan L., 2004. "New evidence on the effects of job creation schemes in Germany--a matching approach with threefold heterogeneity," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(4), pages 257-302, December.
    3. Kluve, Jochen & Lehmann, Hartmut & Schmidt, Christoph M., 1999. "Active Labor Market Policies in Poland: Human Capital Enhancement, Stigmatization, or Benefit Churning?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 61-89, March.
    4. Michael Lechner, 2000. "An Evaluation of Public-Sector-Sponsored Continuous Vocational Training Programs in East Germany," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 35(2), pages 347-375.
    5. Andrew Dyke & Carolyn J. Heinrich & Peter R. Mueser & Kenneth R. Troske & Kyung-Seong Jeon, 2006. "The Effects of Welfare-to-Work Program Activities on Labor Market Outcomes," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 24(3), pages 567-608, July.
    6. Hujer, Reinhard & Caliendo, Marco, 2000. "Evaluation of Active Labour Market Policy: Methodological Concepts and Empirical Estimates," IZA Discussion Papers 236, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Michael Lechner, 1999. "Nonparametric bounds on employment and income effects of continuous vocational training in East Germany," Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 2(1), pages 1-28.
    8. Michael Lechner & Ruth Miquel & Conny Wunsch, 2011. "Long‐Run Effects Of Public Sector Sponsored Training In West Germany," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 742-784, August.
    9. Daniel Friedlander & David H. Greenberg & Philip K. Robins, 1997. "Evaluating Government Training Programs for the Economically Disadvantaged," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(4), pages 1809-1855, December.
    10. Ashenfelter, Orley & Card, David, 1985. "Using the Longitudinal Structure of Earnings to Estimate the Effect of Training Programs," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 67(4), pages 648-660, November.
    11. Espen Bratberg & Astrid Grasdal & Alf Erling Risa, 2002. "Evaluating Social Policy by Experimental and Nonexperimental Methods," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 104(1), pages 147-171, March.
    12. Robert J. LaLonde, 1995. "The Promise of Public Sector-Sponsored Training Programs," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 149-168, Spring.
    13. Michael Lechner, 2002. "Program Heterogeneity And Propensity Score Matching: An Application To The Evaluation Of Active Labor Market Policies," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(2), pages 205-220, May.
    14. James J. Heckman & Hidehiko Ichimura & Petra E. Todd, 1997. "Matching As An Econometric Evaluation Estimator: Evidence from Evaluating a Job Training Programme," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 64(4), pages 605-654.
    15. Raaum, Oddbjorn & Torp, Hege, 2002. "Labour market training in Norway--effect on earnings," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 207-247, April.
    16. Annette Bergemann & Bernd Fitzenberger & Stefan Speckesser, 2009. "Evaluating the dynamic employment effects of training programs in East Germany using conditional difference-in-differences," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(5), pages 797-823.
    17. Fougère, Denis & Crépon, Bruno & Brodaty, Thomas, 2000. "Using Matching Estimators to Evaluate Alternative Youth Employment Programs: Evidence from France, 1986-1988," CEPR Discussion Papers 2604, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    18. Schmidt, Christoph M., 1999. "Knowing What Works: The Case for Rigorous Program Evaluation," IZA Discussion Papers 77, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Jochen Kluve & Hartmut Lehmann & Christoph M. Schmidt, 2000. "Disentangling Treatment Effects of Polish Active Labour Market Policies: Evidence from Matched Samples," CERT Discussion Papers 0007, Centre for Economic Reform and Transformation, Heriot Watt University.
    20. Deborah Cobb-Clark & Thomas Crossley, 2002. "Econometrics for Summative Evaluations: An Introduction to Recent Developments," CEPR Discussion Papers 454, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    21. Robinson, Peter, 2000. "Active Labour-Market Policies: A Case of Evidence-Based Policy-Making?," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 16(1), pages 13-26, Spring.
    22. Denis Conniffe & Vanessa Gash & Philip J. O'Connell, 2000. "Evaluating State Programmes - “Natural Experiments” and Propensity Scores," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 31(4), pages 283-308.
    23. Lechner, Michael, 1999. "Earnings and Employment Effects of Continuous Off-the-Job Training in East Germany after Unification," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 17(1), pages 74-90, January.
    24. Magnac, Thierry, 2000. "Subsidised Training and Youth Employment: Distinguishing Unobserved Heterogeneity from State Dependence in Labour Market Histories," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(466), pages 805-837, October.
    25. Regner, Hakan, 2002. "A nonexperimental evaluation of training programs for the unemployed in Sweden," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 187-206, April.
    26. Burt S. Barnow, 1987. "The Impact of CETA Programs on Earnings: A Review of the Literature," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 22(2), pages 157-193.
    27. Rajeev H. Dehejia & Sadek Wahba, 2002. "Propensity Score-Matching Methods For Nonexperimental Causal Studies," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(1), pages 151-161, February.
    28. Puhani, Patrick A, 1998. "Advantage Through Training? A Microeconometric Evaluation of the Employment Effects of Active Labour Market Programmes in Poland," CEPR Discussion Papers 2000, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    29. Bratberg, Espen & Grasdal, Astrid & Risa, Alf Erling, 2002. " Evaluating Social Policy by Experimental and Nonexperimental Methods," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 104(1), pages 147-171.
    30. Arild Aakvik & James J. Heckman & Edward J. Vytlacil, 2000. "Treatment Effects for Discrete Outcomes when Responses to Treatment Vary Among Observationally Identical Persons: An Application to Norwegian ..," NBER Technical Working Papers 0262, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    31. James J. Heckman & Hidehiko Ichimura & Petra Todd, 1998. "Matching As An Econometric Evaluation Estimator," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 65(2), pages 261-294.
    32. Conny Wunsch, 2005. "Labour Market Policy in Germany: Institutions, Instruments and Reforms since Unification," University of St. Gallen Department of Economics working paper series 2005 2005-06, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen.
    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. Trine Filges & Geir Smedslund & Anne‐Sofie Due Knudsen & Anne‐Marie Klint Jørgensen, 2015. "Active Labour Market Programme Participation for Unemployment Insurance Recipients: A Systematic Review," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(1), pages 1-342.

    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. Lechner Michael & Miquel Ruth & Wunsch Conny, 2007. "The Curse and Blessing of Training the Unemployed in a Changing Economy: The Case of East Germany After Unification," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 8(4), pages 468-509, December.
    2. A. Smith, Jeffrey & E. Todd, Petra, 2005. "Does matching overcome LaLonde's critique of nonexperimental estimators?," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 125(1-2), pages 305-353.
    3. Michael Lechner & Ruth Miquel & Conny Wunsch, 2007. "The Curse and Blessing of Training the Unemployed in a Changing Economy: The Case of East Germany After Unification," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 8(4), pages 468-509, November.
    4. Dettmann, Eva & Becker, Claudia & Schmeißer, Christian, 2010. "Is there a Superior Distance Function for Matching in Small Samples?," IWH Discussion Papers 3/2010, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    5. Kluve, Jochen & Lehmann, Hartmut & Schmidt, Christoph M., 2008. "Disentangling Treatment Effects of Active Labor Market Policies: The Role of Labor Force Status Sequences," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 1270-1295, December.
    6. Michael Lechner & Stephan Wiehler, 2011. "Kids or courses? Gender differences in the effects of active labor market policies," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 24(3), pages 783-812, July.
    7. Michael Lechner & Conny Wunsch, 2006. "Active Labour Market Policy in East Germany: Waiting for the Economy to Take Off," University of St. Gallen Department of Economics working paper series 2006 2006-24, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen.
    8. Cockx, Bart & Bardoulat, Isabelle, 1999. "Vocational Training: Does it speed up the Transition Rate out of Unemployment ?," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 1999032, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    9. Dettmann, E. & Becker, C. & Schmeißer, C., 2011. "Distance functions for matching in small samples," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 55(5), pages 1942-1960, May.
    10. Kluve, Jochen & Fertig, Michael & Jacobi, Lena & Nima, Leonhard & Schaffner, Sandra & Schmidt, Christoph M. & Card, David & Góra, Marek & Jensen, Peter & Leetmaa, Reelika & Patacchini, Eleonora & van , 2005. "Study on the effectiveness of ALMPs: Research project for the European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. Final report," RWI Projektberichte, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, number 69929.
    11. Michael Lechner, 2002. "Mikroökonometrische Evaluation arbeitsmarktpolitischer Massnahmen," University of St. Gallen Department of Economics working paper series 2002 2002-20, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen.
    12. Guido W. Imbens & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2009. "Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 5-86, March.
    13. Marco Caliendo & Sabine Kopeinig, 2008. "Some Practical Guidance For The Implementation Of Propensity Score Matching," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 31-72, February.
    14. Martin Biewen & Bernd Fitzenberger & Aderonke Osikominu & Marie Paul, 2014. "The Effectiveness of Public-Sponsored Training Revisited: The Importance of Data and Methodological Choices," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 32(4), pages 837-897.
    15. Jochen Kluve & Hartmut Lehmann & Christoph M. Schmidt, 2000. "Disentangling Treatment Effects of Polish Active Labour Market Policies: Evidence from Matched Samples," CERT Discussion Papers 0007, Centre for Economic Reform and Transformation, Heriot Watt University.
    16. Heckman, James J. & Lalonde, Robert J. & Smith, Jeffrey A., 1999. "The economics and econometrics of active labor market programs," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 31, pages 1865-2097, Elsevier.
    17. Raaum, Oddbjørn & Torp, Hege & Zhang, Tao, 2003. "Business cycles and the impact of labour market programmes," Memorandum 14/2002, Oslo University, Department of Economics.
    18. Michael Lechner & Conny Wunsch, 2009. "Active labour market policy in East Germany," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 17(4), pages 661-702, October.
    19. Huber, Martin & Lechner, Michael & Wunsch, Conny, 2013. "The performance of estimators based on the propensity score," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 175(1), pages 1-21.
    20. Michael Lechner & Ruth Miquel & Conny Wunsch, 2011. "Long‐Run Effects Of Public Sector Sponsored Training In West Germany," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 9(4), pages 742-784, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labour Economics Policies; Human Capital; Skills; Unemployment; Models; Duration; Incidence and Job Search;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

    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:ozl:journl:v:11:y:2008:i:2:p:163-185. 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: Sandie Rawnsley (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/becurau.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.