The Sensitivity of the Effect Of On-the-Job Training on Employment Outcomes in Experimental and Non-Experimental Settings

Abstract This paper examines the effect of on-the-job training on the probability of finding a job. We reevaluate the existing training program using experimental data from the National Employment Service, 2013 and non-experimental data from the Labor Force Survey, 2013. Moreover, we employ the Propensity Score Matching method to estimate the training effect and to check its sensitivity to a different model specification and to different degrees of randomization. The results show that the average training effect on the treated is smaller and the reduction in the selection bias is higher when a different specification is used. Moreover, the effect is also sensitive to different degrees of randomization settings, i.e., the effect is smaller in a non-experimental setting compared to the quasi-experimental setting. Hence, we conclude that the average training effect on the treated decreases if we increase the randomization of the treated group