Impact Estimates Regarding Nonparticipants in the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Program Under…

"This report supplements the main impact evaluation report by focusing on program impacts for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)-eligible nonparticipants who choose not to receive a significant TAA service. These workers may be affected by the TAA program for several reasons. First, TAA-eligible workers might receive Rapid Response services or other early intervention services funded by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) or Employment Services (ES), and One-Stop Career Center [now called American Job Centers] services. In addition, these workers could receive a waiver from the TAA training requirement, and thus, may have some contact with a TAA counselor. Consequently, these light-touch services could help eligible nonparticipants become reemployed, thereby obviating their need for more intensive TAA services.

“This report addresses the following research questions:

• “Did the early intervention services provided to all TAA eligible workers improve access to reemployment services and education and training services for program nonparticipants?

• “How effective were the TAA early intervention services in boosting nonparticipants’ employment and earnings?

These questions are addressed by comparing the outcomes of a sample of TAA nonparticipants to their matched comparisons, primarily using telephone survey data that cover the eight quarters after their job losses. The TAA nonparticipant sample was selected using lists of TAA-certified workers obtained from 26 randomly selected study states that were merged with state UI claims records. Most nonparticipants were laid off from their jobs in 2005 and 2006" (p.ix-x). (Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

Full Publication Title: Impact Estimates Regarding Nonparticipants in the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Program Under the 2002 Amendments

• “Eligibility for TAA led to increases in the reemployment services received by program nonparticipants. • “Nonparticipants did not receive more education and training than matched comparisons. • “Both TAA nonparticipants and comparison workers returned to work at the same rate. • “Eligibility for TAA had no impact on the earnings of program nonparticipants. "In sum, the evidence suggests that TAA appeared to moderately increase the receipt of light-touch reemployment services by TAA-eligible nonparticipants relative to what these workers would receive in the absence of TAA. However, these increases in reemployment services did not translate into increases in employment and earnings. The absence of observed program impacts on employment and earnings may have occurred because the treatment-comparison differences in light-touch reemployment services were modest or because the light-touch services were not intensive enough to affect labor market outcomes" (p.xi). (Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2012
• Author(s): Berk, Jillian; Schochet, Peter Z.
• Organizational Author(s): Mathematica Policy Research; Social Policy Research Associates
• Funding Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by:
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies