Lessons for microenterprise programs from a fresh look at the unemploymentinsurance self-employment demonstration

Microenterprise programs aim to foster self-employment among the poor; thos e on welfare, and the unemployed. The only experimental test of their impac t is rite Unemployment Insurance Self-Employment Demonstration (UISED). UIS ED did shorten unemployment spells, but most other impacts were small and r ile most disadvantaged did not choose to participate. Although UISED provid es some weak evidence that long-term income support long-term work-search w aivers, and on-call advice may increase total employment (but perhaps not s elf-employment) more than capital infusions and up-front classes, UISED doe s not reveal the best design for microenterprise programs or whether such p rograms are good social investments.