Job Generation for Young Women: Impact Evaluation of a Training and Voucher Program in Jordan

1. Job Generation for Young Women:Impact Evaluation of a Training and Voucher Program in Jordan David Mckenzie

2. Rationale for Jordan NOW

3. Community college courses taken by women • We see the majority of students are taking courses in administration and finance (43%), which covers specializations such as accounting, electronic administration and management information systems; courses in medical assistance (24%), which covers mainly nursing and pharmacy specializations, and educational programs (10%) which covers those aiming to be teachers.

4. Barriers to Young Women working • Supply side difficulties affecting workers: • Young female workers lack initial experience • Inability to signal quality credibly • Work environment and lack of flexibility might deter females from many firms • Lack of confidence in approaching employers • New female graduates lack “soft skills” needed for lifelong learning and effective employment. • Demand side issues affecting firms’ demand for female workers: • Firms do not have good information about productivity of young female graduates • Stereotypes: young graduates, particularly females lack reputation for job commitment • Lack of experience in hiring women

5. Jordan New Opportunities for Women (Jordan NOW) aims to: • Improve information between firms and potential workers • Provide the opportunity to build a positive work reputation for female graduates • Subsidize on-the-job skills acquisition • Change negative stereotypes among firms and young women • Improve soft-skills and communication skills

6. Intervention Overview • The Jordan NOW pilot consists of two interventions • interpersonal skills training • 3 week course based on interpersonal and basic job skills • job vouchers • salary vouchers worth 150 JD per month valid for a maximum of 6 months

7. Treatment Assignment • 1395 out of the 1755 women in our baseline survey passed the college exit exam • Example of a 2x 2 design • From this group, we assigned 300 women to the training, 300 to job vouchers, 300 to both, and 450 to a control group Control (450) Training (300) Voucher (300) Both (300)

8. Why this sample size? • This is pretty close to the universe of young women passing their exams and graduating from the main community colleges • Did power calculations based on assumed sample size of around 1350 • Can detect increase in employment from 0.20 to 0.30 with power=85% (T=300, C=450), or power = 95% (T=600, C=450).

9. Lottery to decide assignment • Resources limited, so lottery amongst graduates was considered fair way to give each student an equal chance of being selected • Also provides a means for impact evaluation – if vouchers were given out on first-come, first-served basis, it could be the most motivated job seekers who get them, and they wouldn’t be comparable to those who don’t get them.

10. Randomization stratification • Students were stratified into 16 strata on the basis of 2 geographic groups, whether their examination score at the end of high school was above the sample median, whether they indicated at baseline that they planned to work full-time and thought it was likely or somewhat likely that they would have a job within 6 months, and whether or not she is usually permitted to travel to the market alone (a measure of empowerment). • Why stratify? • Improves statistical power • Prevents chance imbalances in these characteristics that we are interested in looking at the heterogeneity of treatment effects by

12. Surveying overview • Baseline survey took advantage of students being at school for exam period • Self-administered questionnaire used (cheap and efficient given short time window allowed for surveying) • One problem: asked for contact phone numbers/emails of friends in case they moved – but since they weren’t allowed their cellphones in the classrooms, many couldn’t provide this information. • Mid-line survey – just completed- majority done by telephone, with in-person follow-ups to find those who couldn’t get by phone. • 1-2 more survey waves planned, probably one more by phone, and a longer one in person.

13. Take-up of the Employability skills Training • The training intervention was organized and implemented by the Business Development Center, a respected local nongovernmental organization that specializes in the school-to-work transition facing Jordanian youth. • The curriculum covered employability as well as professional skills development: • team building, communication skills, presentation skills, business writing, customer service, C.V. writing, interviewing skills, and positive thinking • The training was positivity evaluated by the vast majority of participants, with approximately 90-95% marking the sessions as Excellent. • Training take-up is lower if: • Married • Don’t expect to work • Have high exam scores (perhaps they think they don’t need it) • Training take-up higher if in admin/business courses • Overall 62% of those offered this training took it up.

14. Job Voucher take-up • By mid-April, 51% of women who received vouchers had begun to use their vouchers • Another 14% (77 women) are looking for a job and trying to use their voucher, but they have yet to find a job • Early take-up regressions suggest: use higher among graduates around Amman, less likely to be redeemed among those with higher exam scores, and more likely to be used by those who can travel to a market by themselves and who are not married.

15. Early results • Time-line: • August 2010: baseline survey taken during same week as students taking exams. • Late August 2010: exam results issued, randomization done, and students notified of treatment(s) if they were selected • Sept 25-Nov 2: rolling employability skills training courses • Oct 10, 2010-August 10, 2011: period vouchers are valid for. • May 2011: mid-line survey (gets employment status and outcomes 8-9 months after graduation, and 7 months after employability skills training, at period when first few workers are ending voucher period).

29. Extra slides Regression results from mid-line survey