This paper considers some of the major issues involved in evaluating labour market programs for Aboriginal people in the light of the extensive United States (US) literature on the topic. The paper focuses on the US experience under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), with some reference to the Training for Aboriginals Program (TAP) in Australia. It first considers the need for clearly stated objectives in the formulation of labour market programs. It then outlines some of the problems faced by both experimental and non-experimental evaluations of these programs. A wide range of results has been reported on the effects on income of participation in labour market programs in the US, and there is now considerable scepticism concerning the value of non-experimental studies. The range of results suggests that these need to be interpreted with caution, but strong advocates for non-experimental techniques remain. The paper concludes by presenting some of the implications of the US results for Australian policy formulation and evaluation.

ISBN: 0 7315 1421 1

ISSN:1036 1774