Post-Program Self-Employment Transition
RCTReview
Public works programs rarely create permanent wage jobs in formal labor markets, leaving participants at risk of returning to unemployment once projects conclude. Without sustained opportunities, workers require pathways to channel temporary program income into long-term income-generating activities.
Picture this
Think of a seasonal worker using wages earned during a busy harvest season to buy a pushcart and small inventory of vegetables. Once the harvest ends, the worker no longer needs a boss because the pushcart allows them to run their own daily vegetable-selling business indefinitely.
What the evidence says
Public works program participants worked 16 percent more days in self-employment compared to non-participants, measured more than a year after program completion.
- Who was studied
- Low-income public works participants in urban and rural areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- How
- Randomized controlled trial tracking participant employment arrangements and work days over a one-year post-program follow-up period.
What to do
Provide basic micro-enterprise management modules alongside cash-for-work wages to help participants re-invest earnings into self-employed micro-businesses.
From the source
"In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, PWP participants worked 16 percent more days in self-employment compared to nonparticipants, as measured over a year after the PWP ended."
Public works programs and labor market outcomes.pdf