Vocational Training for Disadvantaged Youth in Colombia: An Assessment of Its Long Term Effects on Crime

We evaluate  the  long-term  impacts  of  a  randomized  Colombian  job training  program  on  crime,  among  participants  and  their  family members. By using a large administrative data that includes the... [ view full abstract ]

We evaluate  the  long-term  impacts  of  a  randomized  Colombian  job training  program  on  crime,  among  participants  and  their  family members. By using a large administrative data that includes the census of all arrests in Colombia in the period 2005-2016, we find that the program reduced the probability of committing a crime of beneficiary participants’ family members, especially in families in extreme poverty or with low educated household heads. The effects are stronger among male family members of female participants, and family members that are younger than the participant. Our results do not show any effect on crime among participants.  The  evidence  suggest  that  the  most  likely channel at work would be the income effect due to higher family income from lottery winners’ higher earnings, which allows the participants’ family members to attain higher education levels and be less likely to work  in  the  informal  labor  market.  These  external  effects  of  the program  provide  additional  evidence  of  its  previously  documented cost-effectiveness.