During the last two decades, voucher programs have become one of the preferred methods for delivering a wide array of social services, including public occupational training. Voucher-based programs have always been a presence in social service delivery, but the last few decades have witnessed an increase in the use of such programs in the United States and other countries, especially for publicly-funded training, which for a long time operated under different principles. Relatively few evaluation studies have been conducted, and the results have been inconclusive at best. The present report is an attempt to ascertain the overall impact of voucher-based training programs on labor market outcomes such as employment and earnings. The report contains a qualitative review of existing evidence and a meta-analysis of existing programs based on statistical analysis. Overall, combining the seven studies included in this analysis suggests that using vouchers for employment training programs may have a positive, albeit quite small effect on both employment and earnings. As more evaluation studies become available, the precision of these meta-analytic results may significantly improve, and subsequent examinations may well be able to more precisely identify the specific effects of voucher-based programs on employment and earnings.

Affiliation: Social Policy Research Associates

Authors: Negoita, Marian; Salzman, Jeffrey; Wiegand, Andrew

Key words: meta-analysis; literature review; Career Advancement Account; CAA; voucher programs; voucher-based training programs