Tag
public_works
9 findings
DevelopmentAsset Accumulation and Savings PersistenceParticipants increased savings or asset ownership in 9 out of 10 evaluations examining asset accumulation; in Tunisia, participants retained significantly higher home, livestock, and furniture ownership 5 years post-program despite a 5 percentage point drop in employment probability.Meta-AnalysisLabour & employmentGender-Differentiated Employment GainsIn the Democratic Republic of the Congo, overall public works program increases in participant employment probability and average hours worked were driven primarily by female employment gains.RCTLabour & employmentGeneral Equilibrium Wage SpilloversIn India's NREGA, 80 percent of the total earnings increase for participants resulted from higher private sector wages rather than direct program transfers. In Ethiopia, public works rollouts increased private sector wages by 9 to 18 percent by reducing private sector labor supply.RCTLabour & employmentHeterogeneous Impact DisparityThe upper quartile of participants who benefited most from the program saw short-term earnings increase by 2.2 times the earnings gain experienced by participants in the lowest quartile.RCTLabour & employmentPost-Program Self-Employment TransitionPublic works program participants worked 16 percent more days in self-employment compared to non-participants, measured more than a year after program completion.RCTLabour & employmentReservation Wage EscalationFive years post-program completion, public works participants experienced a 5 percentage point decline in the probability of engaging in any income-generating activity compared to non-participants, driven by elevated wage expectations and missed private sector opportunities.RCTDevelopmentSelf-Targeting Workfare MechanismWorkfare programs paying at or below minimum wage ($1.80 per day in Sierra Leone) successfully targeted impoverished individuals, boosting participant incomes by 29 percent during active participation without attracting higher-wage workers.RCTLabour & employmentStatutory Gender Quotas and Worksite SupportNationally, 40% of women who wanted work were employed versus 78% of men; MGNREGS policy guidelines legally mandate that at least one-third of beneficiaries be women alongside worksite childcare provisions.Observational StudyLabour & employmentVideo-Guided MGNREGS Navigation and TrainingBaseline figures indicated that while three-quarters of study women wanted to work under MGNREGS, majorities lacked operational knowledge regarding work requests and direct deposit configuration prior to intervention.RCT