The report, by charity CfBT Education Trust, looked at 18 different schemes since the 1970s.
The review, Lessons from History: Increasing the Number of 16- and 17-year-olds in Education and Training, found that some of the most successful schemes in terms of securing jobs for young people were those that offered grants to employers not to employ teenagers but to pay for time off for training.
Among those that offered this was the Training for Skills Programme, which ran for four years from 1979.
Also found to be successful were schemes that paid young people an incremental wage or benefit to take up work or training. Among schemes looked at was the Youth Training Scheme, which ran from 1983 to 1990 and offered those taking part a pay rise at 17 as an incentive to stick with the programme.
"Policy makers should consider whether a higher rate of financial support, for schemes such as education maintenance allowances, should be paid at 17 compared to 16 to encourage them to either stay on in full-time education or enter unwaged training such as programme-led apprenticeships," said the report.
