The Effects of Micro-entrepreneurship Programs on Labor Market Performance: Experimental Evidence from Chile
- (pp. 101-24)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
We investigate the impact of a program providing asset transfers and business training to low income individuals in Chile, and asked whether a larger asset transfer would magnify the program's impact. We randomly assigned participation in a large scale, publicly run micro-entrepreneurship program and evaluated its effects over 45 months. The program improved business practices, employment, and labor income. In the short run, self-employment increased by 14.8/25.2 percentage points for a small/large asset transfer. In the long run, individuals assigned to a smaller transfer were 9 percentage points more likely to become wage workers, whereas those assigned to larger transfers tended to remain self-employed.Citation
Martínez A., Claudia, Esteban Puentes, and Jaime Ruiz-Tagle. 2018. "The Effects of Micro-entrepreneurship Programs on Labor Market Performance: Experimental Evidence from Chile." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 10 (2): 101-24. DOI: 10.1257/app.20150245Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- J23 Labor Demand
- L25 Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope
- L26 Entrepreneurship
- L53 Enterprise Policy
- O14 Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
- R23 Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics: Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population; Neighborhood Characteristics
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