The effects of micro-entrepreneurship programs on labor market performance Experimental evidence from Chile

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 an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAmerican economic journal. Applied economics Vol. 10; no. 2; pp. 101 - 124
Main Authors Martínez A., Claudia, Puentes, Esteban, Ruiz-Tagle, Jaime
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published American Economic Association 01.04.2018
Subjects
Assets
Assignment
Business
Chile
Economic theory
Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship
Förderung
Förderungsmaßnahme
Labor force
Labor market
Niedriglohn
Qualifikationsvermittlung
Selbstständiger
Self employment
Transferleistung
Unternehmensgründung
Öffentliche Förderung
Chile
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Summary: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.
ISSN:1945-7790
1945-7782
1945-7790
DOI:10.1257/app.20150245