What can we learn from RCTs with partial compliance? The unexpected effect of traineeships on the job placement of people with psychiatric disabilities

Journal title RIV Rassegna Italiana di Valutazione
Author/s Gian Paolo Barbetta, Alberto Martini
Publishing Year 2016 Issue 2015/62
Language Italian Pages 15 P. 30-44 File size 622 KB
DOI 10.3280/RIV2015-062004
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We report the results of Lavoro&Psiche (L&P), a RCT which analyzes the effectiveness of intensive and personalized support - provided by professional operators named coach - on the probability of mentally disabled people to take up paid work. The result of the intention-to-treat analysis, which measures the effect of receiving the offer of service, shows a difference - not statistically significant - by 5 percentage points between the employment rate of patients assigned to the coach and that of control patients. A different interpretation analyzes L&P as an Randomized Encouragement Trial in which a particular treatment (the traineeship) is being actively promoted by the coach only to a subset of users. With this analysis, having done a traineeship increases the likelihood of obtaining an employment of 18.5 percentage points. It is possible that, for the mentally disabled, the traineeship can be an effective gateway into the labor market.

Keywords: RCT, Partial Compliance, Mentally Ill, Supported Employment.

Jel codes: C93; I38

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Gian Paolo Barbetta, Alberto Martini, Cosa si può imparare dagli esperimenti con partial compliance: il caso dell’effetto inatteso dei tirocini sull’inserimento lavorativo dei disabili psichici in "RIV Rassegna Italiana di Valutazione" 62/2015, pp 30-44, DOI: 10.3280/RIV2015-062004