Matching-type estimators using the propensity score are the major workhorse in active labour market policy evaluation. This work investigates if machine learning algorithms for estimating the propensity score lead to more credible estimation of average treatment effects on the treated using a...

Based on administrative data of unemployed in Belgium, we estimate the labour market effects of three training programmes at various aggregation levels using Modified Causal Forests, a causal machine learning estimator. While all programmes have positive effects after the lock-in period, we find...

Matching-type estimators using the propensity score are the major workhorse in active labour market policy evaluation. This work investigates if machine learning algorithms for estimating the propensity score lead to more credible estimation of average treatment effects on the treated using a...

Individual unemployment spells are frequently interrupted by short casual employment, by participation in active labour market policy (ALMP) measures or by periods outside the labour force. Such episodes end unemployment spells but afterwards the person gets often unemployed again, and the...

We investigate heterogenous employment effects of Flemish training programmes. Based on administrative individual data, we analyse programme effects at various aggregation levels using Modified Causal Forests (MCF), a causal machine learning estimator for multiple programmes. While all...

Die Partei Bündnis 90/Die Grünen hat eine umfangreiche Agenda arbeitsmarkt- und sozialpolitischer Forderungen erarbeitet. Diese reichen von Maßnahmen mit geringer Reichweite wie dem weitgehenden Verbot der Arbeit auf Abruf bis hin zu Maßnahmen, die einem kompletten Systemwechsel gleichkommen...

Nach der Stabilisierung der Wirtschaft in der akuten Corona-Krise besteht die entscheidende Herausforderung darin, die sich abzeichnende Erholung nicht durch eine übereilte Konsolidierung zu schwächen und zugleich die sozial-ökologische Transformation beschleunigt so voranzutreiben, dass...

The EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe (EU-CEE) were experiencing rising labour shortages prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and ongoing demographic decline means that the issue is likely to resurface once the pandemic is over. As a result, the bargaining power of labour has increased,...

Die Policy Note untersucht die Auswirkungen der Covid-19-Pandemie 2020/2021 auf den österreichischen Arbeitsmarkt und diskutiert die Frage, ob Einstellungsförderungen, also die Subventionierung von neu geschaffenen Arbeitsplätzen, ein richtiges Instrument sein können, um den Arbeitsmarkt...

In der Corona-Pandemie werden durch Kurzarbeit und weitere Hilfsmaßnahmen ganze Branchen stabilisiert. Dies gilt insbesondere für die stark betroffene Gastronomie. Kurzarbeit sichert bedrohte Arbeitsverhältnisse und dämpft Einkommenseinbußen, die bei Verlust des Arbeitsplatzes eintreten...

Based on administrative data of unemployed in Belgium, we estimate the labour market effects of three training programmes at various aggregation levels using Modified Causal Forests, a causal machine learning estimator. While all programmes have positive effects after the lock-in period, we find...

Matching-type estimators using the propensity score are the major workhorse in active labour market policy evaluation. This work investigates if machine learning algorithms for estimating the propensity score lead to more credible estimation of average treatment effects on the treated using a...

We use a repeated large-scale survey of households in the Nielsen Homescan panel to characterize how labor markets are being affected by the covid-19 pandemic. We document several facts. First, job loss has been significantly larger than implied by new unemployment claims: we estimate 20 million...

This note describes some of the early policy developments in the UK and the way in which the framing and understanding of a novel economic problem evolved to include a focus on livelihoods combining social protection and business support orientations. It highlights various points including the...

Zur Eingrenzung der Corona-Pandemie wurde die wirtschaftliche Aktivität stark heruntergefahren. Eine Ausnahme bilden dabei die sogenannten "system- oder versorgungsrelevanten" Bereiche, die durch besondere Regelungen umfassend am Laufen gehalten oder sogar ausgebaut werden. Welche Berufe jedoch...

Finding a job requires effective search skills to engage successfully with employers with vacancies. In a field experiment, we test a website that supplements such search skills by providing editable resume and cover letter templates as well as tips on how to look and apply for jobs. Exposure to...

This paper evaluates the impact on the transition to work of a policy reform in Belgium that restricted the access to a specific unemployment insurance scheme for young labor market entrants. This scheme entitles youths with no or little labor market experience to unemployment benefits after a...

This paper shows that increasing the normal retirement age and introducing pension deductions for retirement before normal retirement age in Germany did not prolong employment of older men. The reason for this surprising result is that employers encouraged their employees to use the bridge...

Trade regulation can create jobs in the sectors it protects or promotes, but almost always at the expense of destroying a roughly equivalent number elsewhere in the economy. At a product-specific or micro level and in the short term, controlling trade could reduce the offending imports and save...

The paper adds to the literature on innovation and employment by looking at the relationship between R&D investments and the rise of alternative work arrangements, particularly selfemployment (SE). A literature review on the determinants of the emergence of non-standard work, alternative work...

Die deutsche Wirtschaft befindet sich in einem konjunkturellen Abschwung. Zugleich werden strukturelle Herausforderungen durch die anstehende Dekarbonisierung deutlich, die auf nationaler und auch auf EU-Ebene enorme Anstrengungen erfordern. Eine wohlstandssichernde Klimawende bedarf massiver...

This paper examines the case for randomized controlled trials in economics. I revisit my previous paper "Randomization and Social Policy Evaluation" and update its message. I present a brief summary of the history of randomization in economics. I identify two waves of enthusiasm for the method...

Most countries around the world implement some form of a safety net program for poor households. A widespread concern is that such programs crowd out private-sector jobs. But they could also improve workers' welfare by allowing them to take on more risk, for example through self-employment. This...

Administrative failures in anti-poverty programmes are widespread in developing countries. We focus on one such administrative failure - the persistent delay in paying beneficiaries on time in India’s iconic anti-poverty programme, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). Using a...

Caseworkers are the main human resources used to provide social services. This paper asks if, and how much, caseworkers matter for the outcomes of unemployed individuals. Using large-scale administrative data, I exploit exogenous variation in unplanned absences among Swiss UI caseworkers. I find...

We use a repeated large-scale survey of households in the Nielsen Homescan panel to characterize how labor markets are being affected by the covid-19 pandemic. We document several facts. First, job loss has been significantly larger than implied by new unemployment claims: we estimate 20 million...

This report looks at employer-provided training in Europe. We start with a brief outline of the economic theory of training. We then look at the recent facts, by combining data from two employer surveys, the European Investment Bank's Investment Survey (EIBIS) and Eurostat's Continuous...

This paper evaluates the impact on the transition to work of a policy reform in Belgium that restricted the access to a specific unemployment insurance scheme for young labor market entrants. This scheme entitles youths with no or little labor market experience to unemployment benefits after a...

Wenn Arbeitnehmer*innen sich vor dem Verlust ihres Arbeitsplatzes ängstigen, hat das schwerwiegende Folgen - für sie selbst und die Unternehmen. Starker Kündigungsschutz lindert die subjektive Arbeitsplatzunsicherheit nicht, Arbeitslosenunterstützung schon. Regelungen zur Existenzsicherung...