Performance indicators presently being used by CETA and the Labor Department, which are primarily constructed from placement data, provide no useful information for judging relative program effectiveness. Other indicators, particularly changes in weeks in the labor force, weeks employed, and wage rates, though not perfect, are correlated much more…

Provides estimates of the impact of Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) programs on participants' postprogram earnings using matched comparison groups developed from a "nearest-neighbor" matching technique. Results indicate that CETA has a negative and statistically significant earnings impact for adult men, and a modest,…

Examines how the autoregressive earnings model developed by Ashenfelter to evaluate job-training programs can produce badly biased estimates of the magnitude and temporal pattern of program effects. Finds that the decay in Ashenfelter's estimated training effect for men was produced by a time-varying bias in his model, and presents a new, more…

A method of estimating the effects of manpower training programs on the average wage of black workers relative to the average wage of white workers is presented. Conclusions indicate that although the effect of manpower training programs on the black/white wage ratio was positive, the estimated effects were very small. (Author/EC)

Meta-analytic techniques are employed to find if the impacts of government funded training programs on earnings grew or deteriorated with time. Further, studies are recommended to understand the cost-effectiveness of training programs.