Evaluating Job Training in Two Chinese Cities

Recent years have seen a surge in work on the impacts of active labor market programs for numerous countries. However, little evidence has been presented on the effectiveness of such programs in China. Recent economic reforms, associated with massive lay-offs, and the accompanying public retraining...

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Main Authors: Bidani, Benu, Blunch, Niels-Hugo, Goh, Chor-Ching, O'Leary, Christopher
Format: Journal Article
Language:EN
Published: 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5421
id okr-10986-5421
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-54212021-04-23T14:02:22Z Evaluating Job Training in Two Chinese Cities Bidani, Benu Blunch, Niels-Hugo Goh, Chor-Ching O'Leary, Christopher Human Capital Skills Occupational Choice Labor Productivity J240 Labor Turnover Vacancies Layoffs J630 Economic Development: Human Resources Human Development Income Distribution Migration O150 Economic Development: Regional, Urban, and Rural Analyses Transportation O180 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Factor and Product Markets Industry Studies Population P230 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics P250 Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics: Regional Migration Regional Labor Markets Population Neighborhood Characteristics R230 Recent years have seen a surge in work on the impacts of active labor market programs for numerous countries. However, little evidence has been presented on the effectiveness of such programs in China. Recent economic reforms, associated with massive lay-offs, and the accompanying public retraining programs make China fertile ground for rigorous impact evaluations. This study uses survey data from the two large industrial cities Shenyang and Wuhan, covering the period 1998 to 2000, to evaluate retraining programs for over 2,000 workers two years after they had been observed as displaced and unemployed. Using a comparison group design, this study is, to our knowledge, the first evaluation of its kind in China. The evidence suggests that retraining helped workers find jobs in Wuhan, but had little effect in Shenyang. The study raises questions about the overall effectiveness of retraining expenditures, and it offers some directions for policy-makers about future interventions to help laid-off workers. 2012-03-30T07:32:44Z 2012-03-30T07:32:44Z 2009 Journal Article Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies 14765284 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5421 EN http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo World Bank Journal Article China
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language EN
topic Human Capital
Skills
Occupational Choice
Labor Productivity J240
Labor Turnover
Vacancies
Layoffs J630
Economic Development: Human Resources
Human Development
Income Distribution
Migration O150
Economic Development: Regional, Urban, and Rural Analyses
Transportation O180
Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Factor and Product Markets
Industry Studies
Population P230
Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics P250
Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics: Regional Migration
Regional Labor Markets
Population
Neighborhood Characteristics R230
spellingShingle Human Capital
Skills
Occupational Choice
Labor Productivity J240
Labor Turnover
Vacancies
Layoffs J630
Economic Development: Human Resources
Human Development
Income Distribution
Migration O150
Economic Development: Regional, Urban, and Rural Analyses
Transportation O180
Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Factor and Product Markets
Industry Studies
Population P230
Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics P250
Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics: Regional Migration
Regional Labor Markets
Population
Neighborhood Characteristics R230
Bidani, Benu
Blunch, Niels-Hugo
Goh, Chor-Ching
O'Leary, Christopher
Evaluating Job Training in Two Chinese Cities
geographic_facet China
relation http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo
description Recent years have seen a surge in work on the impacts of active labor market programs for numerous countries. However, little evidence has been presented on the effectiveness of such programs in China. Recent economic reforms, associated with massive lay-offs, and the accompanying public retraining programs make China fertile ground for rigorous impact evaluations. This study uses survey data from the two large industrial cities Shenyang and Wuhan, covering the period 1998 to 2000, to evaluate retraining programs for over 2,000 workers two years after they had been observed as displaced and unemployed. Using a comparison group design, this study is, to our knowledge, the first evaluation of its kind in China. The evidence suggests that retraining helped workers find jobs in Wuhan, but had little effect in Shenyang. The study raises questions about the overall effectiveness of retraining expenditures, and it offers some directions for policy-makers about future interventions to help laid-off workers.
format Journal Article
author Bidani, Benu
Blunch, Niels-Hugo
Goh, Chor-Ching
O'Leary, Christopher
author_facet Bidani, Benu
Blunch, Niels-Hugo
Goh, Chor-Ching
O'Leary, Christopher
author_sort Bidani, Benu
title Evaluating Job Training in Two Chinese Cities
title_short Evaluating Job Training in Two Chinese Cities
title_full Evaluating Job Training in Two Chinese Cities
title_fullStr Evaluating Job Training in Two Chinese Cities
title_full_unstemmed Evaluating Job Training in Two Chinese Cities
title_sort evaluating job training in two chinese cities
publishDate 2012
url http://hdl.handle.net/10986/5421
_version_ 1764394996886142976