The Economics and Econometrics of Self-Selection with Applications to the Evaluation of Government Training Programs and to Understanding Sectoral Wage Inequality

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

9309525 Heckman This grant supplements the budget of a grant (SES-9111455) to explore both analytical and empirical issues that arise in evaluating the impact of government training programs on trainees. The original study is based on unique data from an ongoing evaluation of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). Supplemental funding would permit acquisition of data from several new sources and completion of new tasks that would greatly enhance the research outlined in the original proposal. More specifically, funds are requested to collect data on state- determined performance standards that affect training center incentives to enroll certain categories of trainees. These financial incentive schedules are in the public domain but are not available in any central location. Knowledge of these incentives permits construction of a model of bureaucratic decision making and response to incentives that is of interest in its own right. Funds are requested to collate and utilize a rich new body of data on subcontracting by training centers. These centers use subcontracts with their vendors to shift the risk of noncompliance with state performance standards. Access has been gained to a valuable source of data on contracts let by training centers and bids submitted by vendors. The analysis of these data will greatly aid in the development of a behavioral model of training center behavior. It will, also provide valuable new evidence on central propositions in the economics of contracting. ***