Labor Market Impacts of an Internship Program on People with Disabilities

Berniell, Inés; Berniell, Lucila; Cañuelo, Belén; Castillo, Victoria; García Oro, Gerardo; Grión, Nestor; Juncosa, Federico; Laguinge, Luis; de la Mata, Dolores

This paper examines the impact of an internship program in Argentina (Programa Primer Paso; PPP) on the formal employment trajectories of people with disabilities (PwD). Using administrative data from 2002 to 2023 and a staggered difference-in-differences design, we estimate that program participation increases formal employment and improves employment stability over time. The average probability of being formally employed rises 8 percentage points within three years after treatment, with the effect growing over time. The program also increases sustained employment and total months in formal jobs. About three-quarters of the employment gains arise from jobs at firms other than the initial internship host, indicating broad integration into the formal labor market, not just formalization of preexisting ties. The findings suggest that internships can reduce labor market gaps for PwD in developing countries, with patterns consistent with three mechanisms: alleviating informational frictions, raising expectations about employment prospects, and acquiring transferable skills.

Subject

País / Región

Argentina

URI

https://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2635

Date

2026-04-28

Cite from this publication

Berniell, I., Berniell, L., Cañuelo, B., Castillo, V., García Oro, G., Grión, N., … de la Mata, D. (2026, April 28). Labor Market Impacts of an Internship Program on People with Disabilities. Retrieved from https://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/2635