The Impact of Training Policies in Argentina: An Evaluation of Proyecto Joven

This paper evaluates Proyecto Joven, a training program targeted to poor young individuals in Argentina. The authors used a non-experimental evaluation methodology to answer the following set of questions: 1) Did the program increase the probability of employment?; 2) Did it increase the probability of a formal employment?; 3) Did it increase the labor income of trainees? The methodology used is the matching estimators approach calculating first propensity scores for program participation and then the matching estimators to calculate the program impact. The impact of the program is negligible in terms of employment and income, but not in terms of formality, which was an important achievement in the case of Argentina, since labor informality was increasing economy wide and more specifically for the group targeted by Proyecto Joven