Is Better Access to Information Effective in Improving Labor Market Outcomes? Experimental Evidence

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Provision of social insurance for low income people is not efficient for a variety of reasons, including lack of information. Similarly, labor markets in these areas do not function efficiently, especially for young women, to create pathways for employment to get them out poverty and improve their wellbeing. The proposed research will use field experiments to study the effects of information on improving efficiency of the provision of social insurance and employment for low income people, especially of young women. The project consists of two studies. The first study investigates how improved information flows through the bureaucracy improves the delivery of social benefits to impoverished recipients. It will also study the mechanisms through which information affects bureaucratic behavior and willingness to adopt information enhanced management tools. The second project will study how information flows influences the efficiency of labor markets in low income areas. The results of this research project will provide important policy inputs for poverty reduction and will help establish the US as a global leader in poverty reduction programs.This study will use two randomized control trial methods to study the effects of improved information on the provision of social insurance and employment among low income people. The first study aims to understand how improving the flow of information within a multi-tiered bureaucratic hierarchy can improve implementation of social protection programs. It examines these issues in the context of timely delivery of wages to impoverished workfare participants. The experimental evaluation considers whether providing improved information at multiple levels of the bureaucracy is complimentary, the mechanisms through which information influences administrator behavior, and willingness to adopt information enhancing management tools. The second study examines information flows in the context of a government-funded training and job placement program. It specifically asks whether community members can more effectively recruit high-potential candidates for training and improve long-term employment and social outcomes for poor youth. The research will also examine how information that youth receive affects program participation and job retention by gender. Insights from this study will inform understanding of how information by local recruiters affects match quality and labor force composition, individual employment outcomes, and youths' economic and social wellbeing.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.