Explanation for Inclusion of Questions

APPENDIX B

EXPLANATIONS FOR INCLUSION OF SURVEY QUESTIONS

EXPLANATIONS OF INCLUSION OF QUESTIONS IN SURVEY

Questions	Description	Explanation	Wave of Interview
Introduction/Screener
A1-A2	Introduction to interview	Introduction to interview	Both
A3-A7	Asks birth date and last four digits of social security number	Check that respondent is sample member	Both
Receipt of Self-Employment Services
B1-B2	Receipt of services prior to random assignment.	Baseline information	First
B3-B5a B6-B8a B9-B11a B12-B14a B15-B16a	Ask whether respondent has received a service, and if so, obtains a measure of the amount of time spent receiving the services and the name of the organization that provided the service. Services asked about include: classes, workshops, or seminars; one-on-one counseling or technical assistance; peer support groups, and mentoring.; other services	Outcome measures. We ask the name of the organization to identify whether the respondent received the services at a provider of GATE services.	Both
B17	Asks about amount paid for all the services combined	Outcome measure and used in benefit-cost analysis.	Both
B21	Asks those who did not participate in any self-employment programs why they did not.	Helps us understand nonparticipation in self-employment programs	Both
B22	Asks whether they have written a business plan.	Outcome measure	Both
B23-B25	Ask whether services in general and GATE specifically assisted them in the plan.	Used to interpret impact estimates.	Both
B26-B28	Ask whether they have applied for loans, for how many, and whether they applied for an SBA loan.	Outcome measure	Both
B29-B31	Ask whether services in general and GATE specifically assisted them applying for the loans.	Used to interpret impact estimates	Both
B32-B33a	Asks how much and in what ways the respondent thought the services helped them.	Used to interpret impact estimates	Both
B34-B37	Asks whether the respondent thought the services they received were useful, which service was most helpful, whether other services would have been helpful, and if so, which.	Used to interpret impact estimates and may suggest improvements in program.	Both
Self-Employment Experiences
C1	Asks for the reasons the respondent had been interested in being self-employed.	Baseline information	First
C2-C3	Length of time self-employed prior to random assignment, and number of businesses owned.	Baseline information	First
C4-C7	Ask about all self-employment spells since random assignment/last interview.	Used to construct history of self-employment. Outcome measure	Both
C8	Asks about reason the self-employment spell ended.	Describes whether business failed and/or respondent took a better job. Used to interpret impact estimates.	Both
C9	Asks about respondent’s labor market activities at end of self-employment spell.	Used to construct history of labor market participation. Outcome measure.	Both
C10-C11	Asks for all businesses operated since random assignment/last interview for the product or activity of the business. We will use this information to code the industry of the business. We also ask whether the respondent is a consultant working for only one company. This will identify people who are effectively attached to another company but are not formally employed by the company.	Outcome measures.	Both
C12-C13	Asks for all businesses operated since random assignment/last interview for average monthly sales and expenses.	Used to estimate size and profitability of business. Outcome measure.	Both
C14	Asks for all businesses operated since random assignment/last interview for average weekly hours spent working.	Outcome measure	Both
C15-C18e	Asks for all business operated since random assignment/last interview for measures of the earnings the sample member has received from the business. We ask first for the proportion of total family income received from the business. We then ask about all payments, bonuses, and profit shares the respondent received.	Used to estimate earnings from self-employment. Outcome measure.	Both
C19	Asks about how much the business was sold for.	Used as a measure of the worth of the business. Outcome measure.	Both
C21-C22b	Asks for the most recent or current business, about the structure of the business and the ownership of the business.	Outcome measure	Both
C23-C26	Asks for the most recent or current business, how the business was acquired.	Outcome measure	Both
C27-C39	Asks for the most recent or current business, how much capital was put into the business and the sources of that capital. Includes asking the amount, interest rate, and length of any loan.	Outcome measure	Both
C40	Asks whether the most recent/current business is located at the respondents home, in an incubator, or in a commercially available space.	Outcome measure	Both
C41	Asks for the zip code of the business.	Can be used to indicate whether the business is located in an economically-depressed area. Outcome measure.	Both
C43-C49	Ask of respondent’s current business, for the total number of employees, whether they work part or full time, and how many family members work at the business. Also ask for the businesses current payroll and which fringe benefits employees are offered.	Indicates the extent the business has created employment. Outcome measure.	Both
C50-C52	Asks whether respondent receives fringe benefits through the business and whether he/she receives health insurance from another source.	Outcome measure	Both
C53	Asks whether other household members had earnings at the time they started their business.	Baseline information	Both
C54	Asks about the challenges of starting a business.	Descriptive information to inform program development and used to interpret impact estimates	Both
C55-C56	For those who did not start a business since random assignment, we ask what the challenges were that prevented them starting a business.	Descriptive information to inform program development and used to interpret impact estimates	First
Employment Working for Someone Else
D0-D2	Ask about years of experience working for someone else and time spent as a manager prior to random assignment.	Baseline information	First
D3, D5-D9	Asks whether they are currently working and whether they have worked for someone else since random assignment/date of last interview. Ask for dates of beginning and end of employment spells.	Used to construct history of employment for someone else. Outcome measure	Both
D4	Asks what they are doing now if they are not working for someone else.	Used to construct history of labor market participation. Outcome measure.	Both
D10-D12	Ask about the type of work they do at each job since random assignment/date of last interview. These questions will be used to code the industry and occupation of the respondent	Outcome measures	Both
D13	Asks about the number of hours worked.	Outcome measure	Both
D14-D16	Ask about the rate of pay.	The responses to these questions and D13 will be used to calculate earnings. Outcome measure	Both
D17	Asks about the availability of fringe benefits to the respondent from any work for someone else.	Outcome measure	Both
D19-D21	Ask about how why the job ended and what the respondent did after the job ended.	Used to construct history of labor market participation. Outcome measure.	Both
D22	Asks about overall current satisfaction from work--whether self-employed or working for someone else.	Outcome measure	Both
Income Sources and Amounts
E1-E4	Ask about total household income.	Outcome measure. Asks in ranges for respondents who do not know their exact annual income or are reluctant to provide that information.	Both
E5-E8	Ask about household income from public assistance, including unemployment compensation, Social Security, pensions and other retirement benefits, cash welfare, Veterans payments, and food stamps.	Outcome measures	Both
Household Composition, Marital Status, and Spouse Employment
F1	Marital status	Outcome measure	Both
F2-F4	Asks about earnings of other household members and hours worked	Outcome measure	Both
F5-F5b	Household composition	Outcome measure	Both
Contact Information
G1-G9	Contact information	Used to locate respondent for second follow-up survey	First
G10-G17	Closing and thanks for interview. Request for minimal contact information.	Thanks and collection of minimal contact information in case need to contact respondent for clarification.	Second

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