Massive Open Online Courses and Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from Colombia
Studying the impact of MOOC certificates on formal labor employment using an RCT with ~21,000 applicants.
Revise & resubmit, The Economic Journal
We leverage an RCT of a program offered by a large MOOC provider to public organizations during the pandemic, where around 13,000 beneficiaries among 21,000 applicants were randomly selected to receive free MOOC certificates. We track participants in formal labor markets for one year after the program ended. Despite the free certificates, the take-up rate is low: 50% of treated beneficiaries enroll in at least one course, but only 7% complete them. Reduced form treatment effects show positive but insignificant effects on formal labor employment. An event study estimating the impact of course completion and earned certificates shows significant increases of 10% on formal employment, with higher effects for low-income beneficiaries. These results reveal that while MOOCs can improve labor market outcomes, complementary interventions are needed to increase completion rates.