Publication: Do Factory Jobs Improve Welfare? Experimental Evidence from Ethiopia
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Date
2025-02-12
ISSN
0258-6770
Published
2025-02-12
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Abstract
This study explores the impact of a light-touch job-facilitation intervention that supported young female job seekers during the application process for factory work in a newly constructed industrial park in Ethiopia. Using data from a panel of 687 job seekers and randomized access to the support intervention, the study finds that treated applicants are more likely to be employed and have higher earnings and savings eight months after baseline, although these impacts are short-lived. Four years later, the effects on employment and income largely dissipated. The results suggest that young women face significant barriers to engaging in factory work in the short run that a simple job-facilitation intervention can help overcome. In the long term, however, these jobs do not offer a better alternative than other income-generating opportunities.
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“Abebe, Girum; Buehren, Niklas; Goldstein, Markus. 2025. Do Factory Jobs Improve Welfare? Experimental Evidence from Ethiopia. World Bank Economic Review. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42801 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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World Bank Economic Review
1564-698X
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