The Impact of CETA Programs on Components of Participants' Earnings

This paper provides the first estimates of the net impact of CETA participation on the components of CETA participants' post-program earnings. Employing a sample of 1975 CETA enrollees and comparison groups drawn from the March 1978 CPS using a nearest-neighbor matching technique, the authors estimate statistically significant negative effects on men's earnings and statistically significant positive effects on women's earnings. These results stem partly from the impact of CETA participation on the likelihood of being employed after leaving the program (negative for men, positive for women), but also from a negative impact on hours worked during the year and hourly wage rate for men and a large positive impact on hours worked per week and weeks worked per year for women.