Authors	Hujer, R., Caliendo, M. and Radic, D.
Year	2004
Reference	In: Descy, P., Tessaring, M. (Eds.): The Foundations of Evaluation and Impact Research (CEDEFOP Reference Series 58), Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg, pp. 131-190.
Presentations	CEDEFOP-Conference: Evaluation and Impact of Education and Training - Thessaloniki 2002.
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Abstract	The need to measure and judge the effects of social programmes and the importance of evaluation studies in this context are not questioned any longer. Evaluation is a complex task and requires a concept consisting of several steps. The following contribution mainly focuses on the methodological aspects of evaluation and particularly on econometric evaluation techniques. Thereby we concentrate on evaluation studies conducted in the field of active labour market policies (ALMP) and especially labour market training (LMT) in Germany and Europe. The ideal evaluation process can be viewed as a series of three steps. First, the impacts of the pro-gramme on the individual should be estimated. Second, it should be examined if the estimated impacts are large enough to yield net social gains. Finally, it should be answered if this is the best outcome that could have been achieved for the money spent (Fay, 1996). The focus of our paper is the first step, namely the microeconometric evaluation, even though the other two steps, i.e. macroeconometric evaluation and cost-benefit analysis, are discussed, too. After having discussed the methodological issues related to the three evaluation steps, we present empirical findings form micro- and macroeconometric evaluations in Europe and especially in Germany. We find that training programmes seem to have positive effects on the individuals in most of the studies and perform better than alternative labour market programmes like e.g. job creation schemes. Finally we use the results from our methodological discussion and the empirical findings to draw some implications for policy and evaluation practice. Thereby we focus on the choice of the appropriate estimation method, data requirements, the problem of heterogeneity in evaluation analysis, the successful design of training programmes and the transferability of our findings (for ALMP) to other social programmes.