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Field
Last Published
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Before
February 10, 2026 06:37 AM
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After
February 22, 2026 07:09 PM
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Field
Primary Outcomes (End Points)
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Before
We define three families of primary outcomes: psychological well-being, job search behaviours, and labour market outcomes. All outcomes are measured in two follow-up surveys conducted shortly after the end of the intervention, and results are pooled across survey rounds.
1. Psychological well-being: Primary outcomes are: (i) a binary indicator for psychological distress (GHQ-12 ≥ 4); and (ii) a binary indicator for at least moderate depression or anxiety (PHQ-ADS ≥ 20). Secondary outcomes include standardized GHQ-12 and PHQ-ADS scores and their distributions.
2. Job search behaviours: We construct two inverse covariance weighted (ICW) indices. The first captures job search intensity using: time spent searching in the past seven days, job search expenditures in the past seven days, number of applications submitted in the past four weeks, and breadth of search channels used. The second captures the quality of jobs applied to using: reservation wage, average wage of the last ten jobs applied to, share of applications outside the preferred field or occupation, and an index of job quality characteristics (including field match, non-wage benefits, and opportunities for skill development or career growth). Impacts on index components are reported as secondary outcomes.
3. Labour market outcomes: We construct an ICW index of labour market participation using: economic attachment, formal full-time employment, hours worked in the past seven days, and total earnings. We also construct an ICW index of employment quality based on hourly wage, job formality, full-time status, job–field match, learning opportunities, and job satisfaction, measured with respect to the respondent’s main activity. Impacts on index components are reported as secondary outcomes.
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After
We define two primary outcome families:
1. Psychological well-being: We measure the impact of the intervention on validated survey-based measures of psychological distress (GHQ-12) and symptoms of depression and anxiety (PHQ-ADS).
2. Attachment to the labour force: We measure the impact of the intervention on participants’ engagement in productive economic activities, including employment, job search, education/training participation, time allocation across these activities, and earnings.
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Primary Outcomes (Explanation)
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Before
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After
See PAP
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Field
Secondary Outcomes (End Points)
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Before
Secondary outcomes capture potential mechanisms through which the intervention affects psychological well-being, job search behavior, and labor market outcomes. All secondary outcomes are collected in the same follow-up surveys as the primary outcomes but will be split across one of the two surveys (i.e. they are only measured once). The analysis of these outcomes is descriptive and exploratory, aimed at informing interpretation of the primary treatment effects.
1. Beliefs about the labor market and job search, including: (i) expectations about peers’ employment rates and earnings; (ii) perceived likelihood of finding any job and of finding a job in a preferred field or occupation over different time horizons; and (iii) expected wages in the next job and over the medium term. We also measure perceived returns to job search effort by eliciting subjective probabilities of finding a job at different levels of search intensity.
2. Preferences over job characteristics: Where participants are asked to rank job attributes, including earnings, job security, skill development, working conditions, work–life balance, and social impact.
3. Job search networks and information sharing: including the size and composition of personal and professional networks used for job search, the receipt of job referrals, and the types of information exchanged (e.g., job vacancies, labour market information, application or interview assistance, and emotional support).
4. Psychological costs of job search: Including a hypothetical willingness to pay to outsource a standardized application task, perceived avoidance or procrastination of job-search activities, available cognitive bandwidth for job search, and persistence following rejection or lack of response.
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After
Secondary outcomes are grouped into three main families:
1. Job search behaviours: We examine impacts on measures of active job search, search intensity (including time, expenditures, and applications), job offers received, reservation wages, and characteristics of jobs applied to (including wage levels and non-wage attributes).
2. Employment quality: Conditional on employment, we analyse impacts on employment status (including full-time and formal employment), earnings, job-field match, skill development and career opportunities, and job satisfaction.
3. Psychological and belief-based mechanisms: We examine impacts on subjective expectations about job-finding probabilities and wages, perceived returns to job search effort, perceived psychological costs of job search, and willingness to pay to avoid job-search tasks.
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Field
Secondary Outcomes (Explanation)
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Before
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After
See PAP
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