TRAINING-PROGRAMS FOR DISPLACED WORKERS - WHAT DO THEY ACCOMPLISH

A consensus appears to be building that the extensive structural chang es taking place in the U.S. economy warrant the expansion of governmen t programs to assist displaced workers. Training in particular is seen as a vital part of the adjustment process. Although the ''problem'' i s real, findings regarding the appropriate solution are murky. Researc h on existing training programs fails to show that they enable workers to achieve higher pay at their new jobs. Less expensive government in terventions such as assistance in identifying and applying for job ope nings may be just as effective as training. This article provides furt her analysis of the effects of training programs for displaced workers . It offers evidence on which types of workers are likely to train, an d on whether trainees make bigger or better job changes than non-train ees, using information on a large number of displaced workers from Mas sachusetts who sought government-provided reemployment assistance in t he early 1990s. The author points out some limitations of previous res earch with respect to evaluating how training programs affect reemploy ment pay. She argues that occupational changes by displaced workers ma y lead to some long-term benefits not captured in the studies to date, and that these occupational changes may be more pronounced for worker s who have gone through training programs.