Impact evaluation of labor programs

In the paper presented in our seminar, Ángel Calderón (professor of the Center of Economic Studies at El Colegio de México) identifies the challenges for the evaluation of labor programs in Mexico. He mentioned that in Mexico, as in many Latin America countries, most workers who lose their jobs do not have funding to search for a new job: they have no unemployment insurance, saving, or access to credits.
Professor Calderón analyzes two programs operated by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in Mexico, PROBECAT-SICAT-BECATE, which aims to provide training for 3 months to unemployed workers; and SABE-FORMAL EMPLOYMENT, which gives a financial aid and information on vacancies available to job seekers who were displaced from the formal sector of the economy.
Calderón argues that even that the program has had millions of beneficiaries, it is not known whether the programs have been effective in improving the employability and income of the participants. The fundamental reason is that the databases that are used are not appropriate for a satisfactory evaluation.