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Social employment of welfare recipients in Belgium: an evaluation

Author

Listed:
  • Cockx, Bart

    (UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES))

  • Ridder, Geert

    (Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam)

Abstract
In Belgium welfare agencies are subsidized to employ welfare recipients for a period sufficiently long to entitle them to benefits of the contributory social insurance program. This type of employment is called Social Employment (SE). This paper investigates the effect of SE on the exit rate from welfare. We extend the minimum chi-square approach of Cockx (1995) for grouped duration data to deal with selection into SE at any instant during the welfare spell. Moreover, we introduce a specification error as in Amemiya and Nold (1975) to account for omitted variables, which may be correlated with the selection into SE. We show that a variable that is not correlated with the omitted variables, but affects the probability of selection into SE identifies the SE-effect, and we propose a consistent estimator of this effect that is free of selection bias. We argue that region is such a variable, because in Belgium regional governments determine the subsidy for SE, which affects the participation rate in SE by some political process without consideration of the average characteristics of the welfare recipients in their region. The empirical analysis discovers creaming in the selection process. Without correction for selectivity we find that SE reduces welfare dependency. After correction this conclusion is reversed. These results are in line with the incentives faced by the welfare agencies, that administer the program.

Suggested Citation

  • Cockx, Bart & Ridder, Geert, 1996. "Social employment of welfare recipients in Belgium: an evaluation," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 1996018, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    • Handle: RePEc:ctl:louvir:1996018
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Gerard J. van den Berg & Bas van der Klaauw & Jan C. van Ours, 2004. "Punitive Sanctions and the Transition Rate from Welfare to Work," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 22(1), pages 211-241, January.
    2. Sam Desiere & Bart Cockx, 2021. "How effective are hiring subsidies to reduce long-term unemployment among prime-aged jobseekers? Evidence from Belgium," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 21/1025, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    3. Bergemann, Annette & Pohlan, Laura & Uhlendorff, Arne, 2017. "The impact of participation in job creation schemes in turbulent times," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 182-201.
    4. Bart COCKX & Muriel DEJEMEPPE, 2010. "The Threat of Monitoring Job Search. A Discontinuity Design," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2010041, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    5. Bart Cockx & Muriel Dejemeppe, 2005. "Duration dependence in the exit rate out of unemployment in Belgium. Is it true or spurious?," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(1), pages 1-23, January.
    6. Cockx, Bart, 1999. "The Design of Active Labour Market Policies. What Matters and What Doesn't ?," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 1999035, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    7. Bart Cockx & Christian Goebel & Stéphane Robin, 2013. "Can income support for part-time workers serve as a stepping-stone to regular jobs? An application to young long-term unemployed women," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 189-229, February.
    8. Bart COCKX, 2000. "The design of active labour market policies: Building in effective incentives," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 139(4), pages 457-480, December.
    9. Muriel Dejemeppe & Bruno Van der Linden & Andrey Launov & Bart Cockx, 2011. "Monitoring and Sanctions in a Non-Stationary Structural Job-Search Model," 2011 Meeting Papers 501, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    10. Bergemann, Annette & Pohlan, Laura & Uhlendorff, Arne, 2016. "Job Creation Schemes in Turbulent Times," IZA Discussion Papers 10369, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Mörk, Eva & Ottosson, Lillit & Vikman, Ulrika, 2021. "To work or not to work? Effects of temporary public employment on future employment and benefits," Working Paper Series 2021:12, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    12. Viktor Steiner & Tobias Hagen, 2002. "Was kann die Aktive Arbeitsmarktpolitik in Deutschland aus der Evaluationsforschung in anderen europäischen Ländern lernen?," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 3(2), pages 189-206, May.
    13. Betcherman, Gordon & Olivas, Karina & Dar, Amit, 2004. "Impacts of active labor market programs : new evidence from evaluations with particular attention to developing and transition countries," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 29142, The World Bank.
    14. Cockx, Bart & Bardoulat, Isabelle, 1999. "Vocational Training: Does it speed up the Transition Rate out of Unemployment ?," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 1999032, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    15. Eichler, Martin & Lechner, Michael, 2002. "An evaluation of public employment programmes in the East German State of Sachsen-Anhalt," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 143-186, April.
    16. Hagen, Tobias, 2003. "Three Approaches to the Evaluation of Active Labour Market Policy in East Germany Using Regional Data," ZEW Discussion Papers 03-27, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    17. Muriel Dejemeppe, 2005. "A Complete Decomposition of Unemployment Dynamics using Longitudinal Grouped Duration Data," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 67(1), pages 47-70, February.
    18. Michael White and Genevieve Knight, 2003. "Benchmarking the effectiveness of NDYP: A review of European and US literature on the microeconomic effects of labour market programmes for young people," PSI Research Discussion Series 10, Policy Studies Institute, UK.
    19. van den Berg, G. & van der Klaauw, B. & van Ours, J.C., 1998. "Punitive sanctions and the transition from welfare to work," Other publications TiSEM cfce4d32-1348-4f9a-ab86-e, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    20. Cockx, Bart & Brasseur, Carine, 2003. "The demand for physician services: Evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(6), pages 881-913, November.

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