Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Highlights
- The study's objective was to examine the impact of Growing America Through Entrepreneurship (GATE) on earnings and employment. This profile focuses on the study at the Maine site. The authors investigated similar research questions for other sites, the profiles of which can be found here:
- The study was a randomized controlled trial that assigned participants to the treatment or control group. The primary data sources were a post-training survey and participant employment characteristics observed by the researchers once the training was complete. The authors used statistical models to compare the outcomes of the treatment and control groups.
- The study found that program participants had significantly higher earnings than control group participants.
- This study receives a moderate evidence rating. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to Growing America Through Entrepreneurship (GATE), but other factors might also have contributed.
Intervention Examined
Growing America Through Entrepreneurship (GATE)
Features of the Intervention
The GATE project is a government-sponsored entrepreneurship training program established in 2003. It aimed to help unemployed workers who lost jobs in various sectors become reemployed by starting their own businesses. GATE was implemented in Portland, Lewiston, and Bangor and targeted unemployed working aged adults. Program participants could attend workshops which focused on developing a business plan, applying for business loans, hiring, and establishing customer relationships. They could also receive personal advice from counselors who could assess the viability of business plans, refer participants to other resources, and provide some technical assistance related to loan applications. Counselors also referred to some with non-viable business plans to seek traditional employment when appropriate. Training providers including community colleges, community-based organizations (CBOs), small business development centers, and local employment offices delivered the intervention following selection by DOL.
Features of the Study
The study was a randomized controlled trial that assigned unemployed individuals who applied to participate in the GATE program to the treatment or control group. The study sample included 226 individuals; 106 who were randomly assigned to the treatment group and 120 who were randomly assigned to the control group. Treatment group participants received the GATE intervention, control group participants did not receive GATE program services but could access similar services in the community on their own initiative. The study sample was primarily male (62.8%) with smaller percentages of non-white individuals (11.1%) and individuals with disabilities (11.5%). Most participants were between the ages of 45 and 54, a third had incoming self-employment experience, 30.1% had a college degree, and 40.7% had incomes of less than $25,000. The primary data sources were a post-training survey and participant employment characteristics observed by the researchers once the training was complete. The authors used statistical models to compare the outcomes of the treatment and control groups.
Findings
Earnings and wages
- The study found that receipt of GATE services significantly increased total earnings.
Employment
- The study did not find significant differences between the treatment and control groups on employment outcomes.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
Although this study was a randomized controlled trial, it suffers from high attrition. However, the authors ensured that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. Therefore, the study is eligible for a moderate evidence rating. Additionally, the authors reported significant findings at a 10 percent significance level. However, CLEAR guidelines only consider findings significant at the 5 percent level. Therefore, we have reported that there were no statistically significant impacts for employment outcomes.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is moderate, because it was a randomized controlled trial with high attrition, but the authors ensured that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to Growing America Through Entrepreneurship (GATE), but other factors might also have contributed.