We detect strong program impacts on monthly earnings. We measure earnings as an individual’s total earnings in the past month, including income from all IGAs, but not including unearned income.<sup>52</sup> We observe a statistically significant (at the 1 percent level) increase in monthly earnings for the treatment group by 850 to 921 NRs (≈ 12 USD), from a baseline average of 1,272 NRs (≈ 17 USD).<sup>53</sup> In percentage terms, this earnings increase translates to a 72 percent for the pooled sample.

With alternative measurements of earnings, we detect even larger program impacts. To account for the highly skewed nature of earnings distributions, we examine the impact on logged earnings and we find impacts of over 100 percent. A third way to examine the impact on earnings is to consider the proportion of participants who earned a “decent living.” The Employment Fund considers 3,000 NRs per month (≈ 40 USD) as “gainful employment” and considers this amount as “being productively employed.” At baseline, only about 20 percent of the sample was “gainfully employed”. The EF training program increased the “gainful employment” rate increases by 13 to 14 percentage points, a result statistically significant across all three models. The surveys of the 2011 and 2012 cohorts provide data on self-employment and work outside of home, conditional on having non-farm employment. We find an increase in self-employment (significant at the 5 percent level) and no increase in the proportion of people working outside the home.

# **c. Non-Employment Impacts for the Full Sample**

The last four rows of Table 8 present the estimated impacts on savings and borrowing behavior. We find no systematic impacts of the EF training program on loans. The program had a significant and positive impact on individual total savings – a year into the program, savings increased by 901 to 1,171 NRs (≈ 12 to 15 USD).

Table 9 presents program impacts on a range of empowerment outcomes. Because empowerment is a multidimensional concept, we examine various aspects of empowerment – from psychological empowerment,<sup>54</sup> entrepreneurial self-confidence,<sup>55</sup> and financial literacy<sup>56</sup> to control over resources.<sup>57</sup> The results show a number of significant impacts of the EF training program. Relative to the control group, EF training participants report having more money of their own, more control over household spending, and more

> 52 If an individual did not work in the past month, his/her earnings are recorded as zero.

> 53 This average is based on the entire study cohort, including those with zero earnings at baseline.  The average earnings among those with non-zero earnings were 2928 NRs, translating to a percentage increase in earnings of 30%.

> 54 Psychological constructs related to self-confidence and self-regulation were measured using a series of questions to which the respondent indicates their level of agreement (using variations of a Likert scale), which were then aggregated into a single score. The self-regulation scale included questions on goal-setting and self-control. Preliminary reliability testing yielded a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.77 for the self-regulation scale.

> 55 The entrepreneurial score is based on the respondent’s self- confidence to perform a series to tasks related to running a business or searching for a job. The specific tasks asked were: Find information about job opportunities in your community, Apply and interview for a job, Run your own business, Work in a team with 3-4 other people to accomplish a task, Identify income generating activities to start up a new business, Obtain credit from a bank, microfinance institution, CBO or NGO, Manage financial accounts, and Collect the money someone owes you. Respondents rated their ability to do these tasks on a scale of 1 to 5, and their responses were summed to form a single numerical score.

> 56 Financial literacy is defined as responding correctly to at least one out of three questions indicating the respondent’s familiarity with interest rates and ability to perform a mathematical computation (about one-third of respondents got the question right at baseline)

> 57 Control over monetary resources is asked in a variety of ways in different sections of the survey questionnaire, including a direct question on whether the respondent has any money of his own that he alone can decide how to use, whether he/she can decide how to spend any earnings from employment or whether he/she needs permission, and whether he/she controls her own savings, and the extent to which he/she participates in decisions regarding common household expenditures such as food and medicine.

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