Working Paper: NBER ID: w25788
Authors: Christopher Blattman; Stefan Dercon; Simon Franklin
Abstract: We study two interventions for underemployed youth across five Ethiopian sites: a $300 grant to spur self-employment, and a job offer to an industrial firm. Despite significant impacts on occupational choice, income, and health in the first year, after five years we see nearly complete convergence across all groups and outcomes. Shortrun increases in productivity and earnings from the grant dissipate as recipients exit their micro-enterprises. Adverse effects of factory work on health found after one year also appear to be temporary. These results suggest that one-time and one-dimensional interventions may struggle to overcome barriers to wage- or self-employment.
Keywords: cash grants; self-employment; industrial jobs; Ethiopia; youth unemployment
JEL Codes: F16; J24; J81; O14; O17
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| cash grant (H81) | self-employment (L26) |
| cash grant (H81) | productivity (O49) |
| cash grant (H81) | earnings (J31) |
| cash grant (H81) | income levels convergence (F62) |
| factory job offer (L23) | employment (J68) |
| factory job offer (L23) | earnings (J31) |
| factory job offer (L23) | health outcomes (I14) |
| cash grant (H81) | poverty alleviation (I32) |
| factory job offer (L23) | poverty alleviation (I32) |