The Determinants of Participation in a Social Program: Evidence from a Prototypical Job Training Program

76 Pages Posted: 5 Jul 2003 Last revised: 1 May 2022

See all articles by James J. Heckman

James J. Heckman

University of Chicago - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); American Bar Foundation; Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Jeffrey A. Smith

University of Wisconsin - Madison; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

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Date Written: July 2003

Abstract

This paper decomposes the participation process of a prototypical program into eligibility, awareness, application, acceptance and enrollment. With this decomposition, we determine the sources of unequal participation for different groups, and demonstrate that variables often have very different effects at different stages in the participation process. Our analysis shows that personal choices substantially affect participation and that awareness of program eligibility is a major source of variation in participation.

Suggested Citation

Heckman, James J. and Smith, Jeffrey Andrew, The Determinants of Participation in a Social Program: Evidence from a Prototypical Job Training Program (July 2003). NBER Working Paper No. w9818, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=421779

James J. Heckman (Contact Author)

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Jeffrey Andrew Smith

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