Are self-employment training programs effective? Evidence from Project GATE

We examine the efficacy of providing self-employment training to unemployed and other individuals interested in self-employment using data from Project GATE. This experimental design program offered self-employment training services to a random sample of individuals who expressed a strong interest in self-employment. We find that Project GATE was effective in helping unemployed participants to start their own business, leading to significant impacts in self-employment and overall employment soon after program entry. The program also helped unemployed participants remain self-employed and avoid unemployment even five years after program entry. However, the program was not effective in improving the labor market outcomes of participants who were not unemployed.

► We examine if self-employment training is an effective labor market policy. ► Self-employment training promotes the rapid reemployment of the unemployed. ► Self-employment training has no effect on the outcomes of non-unemployed workers. ► Self-employment training is an effective reemployment policy for the unemployed.