Long-run impacts of public works employment: evidence from Cape Town's Expanded Public Works Programme

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) Africa, hosted at the University of Cape Town, is running a research project called: Long-run impacts of public works employment: evidence from Cape Town's Expanded Public Works Programme

Public Works Programmes (PWPs) are one of the most widely used policy tools for addressing unemployment in low- and middle-income countries. In South Africa, the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) has provided short-term subsidised employment to millions of job-seekers since its introduction in 2004. Despite the scale of these programmes globally, relatively little is known about their long-run effects: do they help participants build skills and find stable employment, or do they crowd out private-sector job search? Do impacts differ by gender, age, or prior work experience?

This study addresses these questions using a rare natural experiment. The City of Cape Town's EPWP assigned work opportunities through a randomised process, meaning that otherwise similar individuals were placed or not placed into the programme by chance. Working with the City of Cape Town, we have been granted access to administrative data covering beneficiaries dating back to 2014. This randomised assignment, combined with a long follow-up horizon of over a decade, gives us an unusual opportunity to measure causal effects on employment, earnings, household welfare, and wellbeing well beyond the period of programme participation itself. The results will contribute to a growing international evidence base on the design and impacts of public employment programmes, and will directly inform how the City of Cape Town and other South African municipalities design and target such initiatives.

What Participation Involves

We are inviting individuals registered in the City of Cape Town's EPWP beneficiary database to take part in a telephone survey. The survey covers topics including current and past employment, household circumstances, job search behaviour, and general wellbeing, and takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. All participants will receive a R40 airtime voucher as a form of compensation for their time.

Participation is entirely voluntary, and participants may withdraw at any time without consequence. All responses are strictly confidential and no individual will ever be identified in any reporting or publication arising from this study. The study has been reviewed and approved by the University of Cape Town's ethics committee.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about the study, would like to verify its legitimacy, or wish to raise a concern, please contact Talia Bernhardt, Research Associate (071 594 6454).

Meet the Team