Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Panel: Lessons Learned from Public Workforce Program Experiments

(Employment and Training Programs)

This session presents design, policy, and administrative lessons learned from a series of experiments sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. The experiments include the small and inexpensive Kalamazoo Work First experiment that offers lessons learned for developing low-cost, effective experiments in the future. A series of reemployment bonus experiments offer a potential new policy initiative than has the potential to be cost effective if it is properly targeting. The individual training account experiment has helped to guide the design of training vouchers, and this experiment is contrasted to the lessons learned from a self-employment experiment. Finally, the Nevada Reemployment and Eligibility Assessment experiment has confirmed what has been learned from earlier experiments conducted in New Jersey, DC, Florida, Charleston and Nevada, and reaffirms the need to provide reemployment services at the same time as conducting eligibility reviews. An introductory chapter by the moderator plus the four papers produced for this session will be published as an e-book by the Upjohn Institute in 2016.