Net Impact Evaluation of Washington State's Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) Program

Last registered on October 12, 2022

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Net Impact Evaluation of Washington State's Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) Program
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0008349
Initial registration date
October 11, 2021

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
October 15, 2021, 10:27 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
October 12, 2022, 5:07 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Employment Security Department, Washington State

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Employment Security Department, Washington State
PI Affiliation
Employment Security Department, Washington State

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2021-10-28
End date
2023-06-01
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Washington State provides reemployment services to unemployment insurance claimants through the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) program. We aim to measure the net impact of this program on claimants' job search and career outcomes. To do so, we will use a randomized controlled trial, where some claimants are selected to participate in the RESEA program and some are not. We will analyze administrative records to measure average program effects on claim duration, the likelihood of finding a job, wages and earnings once reemployed, and the quality of the employer-employee match. We will use two econometric models to estimate employer-employee match quality, both of which are built on the canonical Abowd, Kramarz, and Margolis (1999) model. We anticipate that we will collect experimental data for at least one year.

Work Cited:
Abowd, J. M., Kramarz, F., & Margolis, D. N. (1999). High wage workers and high wage firms. Econometrica, 67(2), 251-333.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Klein, Matthew, Olga Kondratjeva and Daegoon Lee. 2022. "Net Impact Evaluation of Washington State's Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) Program ." AEA RCT Registry. October 12. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8349-1.1
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Some unemployment insurance recipients are selected to participate in the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) program. Once selected, they are notified that they must select an appointment time and location through an online portal.

In this appointment, service delivery staff assess whether the claimant is complying with the job search requirements of unemployment insurance. Then they assist the claimant with their job search by providing labor market information, providing help with understanding what types of jobs they may be a good fit for, providing help with the development of a reemployment plan, and connecting the claimant with additional government services like interview preparation and training programs.

At the end of the meeting, at least one mandatory follow-up meeting is scheduled. The first follow-up is similar to the initial meeting; both typically last about an hour. If claimants fail to report for these appointments, or fail to schedule them, they may forfeit some of the unemployment compensation they are entitled to. Further follow-ups, should they be scheduled, focus on assisting the claimant with their specific job search, checking in about specific applications or interviews and providing tailored guidance.
Intervention Start Date
2021-12-28
Intervention End Date
2023-06-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
1) earnings in the quarter of the initial unemployment insurance claim
2) earnings in the quarter after the initial unemployment insurance claim
3) earnings in the second quarter after the initial unemployment insurance claim

4) employment in the quarter of the initial unemployment insurance claim
5) employment in the quarter after the initial unemployment insurance claim
6) employment in the second quarter after the initial unemployment insurance claim

7) hours worked in the quarter of the initial unemployment insurance claim
8) hours worked in the quarter after the initial unemployment insurance claim
9) hours worked in the second quarter after the initial unemployment insurance claim

10) claim duration
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Match quality between the employer and the employee.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
We will use two methods to measure match quality: the model developed in Woodcock (2015) and the one used in Farooq, Kugler, and Muratori (2020). The citations for these papers are as follows:

Farooq, A., Kugler, A. D., & Muratori, U. (2020). Do Unemployment Insurance Benefits Improve Match Quality? Evidence from Recent US Recessions (No. w27574). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Woodcock, S. D. (2015). Match effects. Research in Economics, 69(1), 100-121.


Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Eligible claimants will be selected at random to receive services (the treatment group) or not (the control group). More details are provided in the attached Analysis Plan.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization conducted via the software system that notifies claimants of their selection to participate in the RESEA program.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
The treatment is provided to individuals, not clusters of individuals.
Sample size: planned number of observations
See the analysis plan for more information.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
See the analysis plan for more information.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
See the analysis plan for more information.
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Washington State Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2021-10-06
IRB Approval Number
2021-080
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

RESEA RCT Analysis Plan

MD5: cfc222dbef84e104ca1acdeff0c9a4ed

SHA1: 4349743f585d9b095b20066382183a50fbeee952

Uploaded At: October 11, 2021

RESEA_RCT_PreAnalysis_Plan_Oct_2022_Update.docx

MD5: beb94f9a1472e9b179e330e5ca6b5f16

SHA1: 1bbfc4c45d78d6ef37c7e1323e0bf4a96cae024c

Uploaded At: October 12, 2022

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials