Promoting community and labor force engagement through service grants and non-cognitive skills training: A randomized control trial in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan, the largest economy in central Asia, has benefited from relatively strong growth in recent years, and thanks to this growth, the unemployment rate among young people (age 15-28) has been falling steadily. Nonetheless, there remain significant disparities across regions and income levels in youth employment opportunities, and there are also significant barriers to employment for young women. In addition, youth in Kazakhstan face significant challenges beyond obtaining employment, demonstrating high rates of disconnectedness from social institutions and high prevalence of risky behaviors.

Males between 25 and 34 are at highest risk for suicide, and Kazakhstan ranks fifth in the world for its rates of deaths in this category. Primarily qualitative evidence suggests other types of risk-taking (alcoholism, sexual violence and crime) are rising in frequency, and disaffection around social and political institutions is also common. Less than a tenth of young people report they are engaged in solving a community problem, and corruption and abuse are commonly cited as significant challenges (as enumerated in the national report on Youth in Kazakhstan 2011).

Against this backdrop, the Government of Kazakhstan (GoK), with financing from the World Bank, has carried out the Youth Corps Project (YCP), which aims to promote civic and community engagement and labor force engagement of targeted young people through grants for community-based learning and non-cognitive skills training. The project is being implemented by the Coordinating Agency (CA), under the oversight of the Ministry of Education and Sciences. The pilot phase of the project was carried out in 2017 and targeted about 4000 youth across 4 regions/oblast (Almaty, Pavlodar, South Kazakhstan and Karaganda).

This pilot was rolled out as a randomized control trial (RCT) in a two-by-two factorial design, allowing the evaluation to capture both independent effects and joint effects of the YCP’s two main components: (i) grants for community-based service learning; and (ii) training and mentorship activities designed to enhance life/non-cognitive skills of participating youth. This study will investigate impacts of these interventions on key outcomes of interest, including non-cognitive skills and mental well-being; civic and social participation and labor force engagement, among others. The relevant treatment effects will be ascertained in the short-run (9 to 12 months after completion of the interventions) as well as in the long-run (18 to 24 months after completion of the interventions).