Chakravarty, ShubhaLundberg, MattiasNikolov, PlamenZenker, Juliane2016-05-042016-05-042016-04https://hdl.handle.net/10986/24232The youth unemployment rate is exceptionally high in developing countries. Because the quality of education is arguably one of the most important determinants of youth's labor force participation, governments worldwide have responded by creating job training and placement services programs. Despite the rapid expansion of skill-enhancement employment programs across the world and the long history of training program evaluations, debates about the causal impact of training-based labor market policies on employment outcomes still persist. Using a quasi-experimental approach, this report presents the short-run effects of skills training and employment placement services in Nepal. Launched in 2009, the intervention provided skills training and employment placement services for more than 40,000 Nepalese youth over a three-year period, including a specialized adolescent girls' initiative that reached 4,410 women ages 16 to 24. The report finds that after three years of the program, the Employment Fund intervention positively improved employment outcomes. Participation in the Employment Fund training program generated an increase in non-farm employment of 15 to 16 percentage points for an overall gain of about 50 percent. The program also generated an average monthly earnings gain of about 72 percent. The report finds significantly larger employment impacts for women than for men, but younger women ages 16 to 24 experienced the same improvements as older females. These employment estimates are comparable, although somewhat higher, than other recent experimental interventions in developing countries.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOSKILLSCIVIL CONFLICTHOUSEHOLD SIZESOCIAL NORMSSEXUALLY ACTIVEREPRODUCTIVE HEALTHECONOMIC GROWTHFORMAL EDUCATIONCONTRACEPTIONREGULAR ATTENDANCEABUSEENROLLMENTEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIESSKILLS DEVELOPMENTGROUPSETHNIC GROUPSLABOR FORCEDEVELOPING COUNTRIESFEMALE PARTICIPANTSDISCRIMINATIONLIFE SKILLSDROPOUTCAPACITY BUILDINGPOLICY DISCUSSIONSTECHNICAL SKILLSSELF-CONFIDENCETRAINING PROGRAMSSPONSORSVULNERABILITYEXAMSINTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATIONPUBLIC HEALTHLITERACYKNOWLEDGETECHNICAL TRAININGLABOR MARKETCOMPLETION RATESLIVELIHOOD SKILLSQUALITY OF EDUCATIONTRAININGJOB OPPORTUNITIESEDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENTECONOMIC EMPOWERMENTMIGRATIONHOUSEHOLD INCOMEVOCATIONAL EDUCATIONLEARNINGMARRIAGEJOB TRAININGEX-COMBATANTSSERVICE DELIVERYREASONINGMIGRANTSHOUSEHOLD ASSETSRADIOSELF- CONFIDENCEFERTILITY PREFERENCESPROGRESSUNEMPLOYMENTHOUSEHOLD LEVELCHILDBIRTHHUMAN CAPITALYOUNG MENVOCATIONAL TRAININGDROPOUT RATESFOOD SECURITYSKILLS TRAININGPOLICIESSCIENCEHOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITYSUBSTANCE ABUSEGENDER DIFFERENCESADOLESCENT GIRLSVALUESHIVECONOMIC RESOURCESPARTICIPATIONPOLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPERECONOMIC STATUSPENSIONSINCOME-GENERATING ACTIVITIESPOLICY MAKERSVULNERABLE GROUPSMINISTRY OF EDUCATIONLABOUR MARKETSOCIAL SCIENCEMANDATESYOUTHDISADVANTAGED GROUPSPOPULATIONSWORKSHOPSPOLICYCURRICULUMOLDER WOMENPILOT PROJECTSSEXFOOD INSECURITYFEMALE STUDENTSMINORITYCHILDRENLEVEL OF EDUCATIONEDUCATIONPHYSICAL HEALTHEARLY INTERVENTIONINVESTMENTTRAINING OPPORTUNITIESNUMBER OF CHILDRENOUTREACH ACTIVITIESYOUNG WOMENMEATINDIGENOUS PEOPLESCONTROL OVER RESOURCESPOLICY IMPLICATIONSYOUNG PEOPLEPOPULATIONMARITAL STATUSGIRLSSTUDENTSPRACTITIONERSLEADERSHIPTECHNICAL EDUCATIONINTERVENTIONSPOLICY RESEARCHGENDER DISCRIMINATIONFERTILITYWOMENREMITTANCESCLASSROOMIMPORTANT POLICYPREGNANCYBOTH SEXESGENDER EQUALITYTRAINING SERVICESSERVICE PROVIDERSDEVELOPMENT POLICYWorking PaperWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-7656