Abstract: Youth unemployment is widely considered a threat to development and to security. To reduce poverty and social instability in developing countries, aid programs commonly provide youth with inputs to boost self-employment or train for a job. Such programs are rooted in two theoretical premises, one economic and one socio-political. The first is that the poor have high potential returns to investments but are constrained from reaching those returns unaided. The second belief is that increased income and employment will reduce youth alienation, aggression, and the potential for political violence. We look for evidence of these claims using an experimental study of Uganda's largest employment program.