Assisting the Transition from Workfare to Work : A Randomized Experiment
Randomly sampled workfare participants in a welfare-dependent region of Argentina were given a voucher that entitled an employer to a sizable wage subsidy. A second sample also received the option of skill training, while a third sample formed the...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2001/12/1660276/assisting-transition-workfare-work-randomized-experiment http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19402 |
| Summary: | Randomly sampled workfare participants
in a welfare-dependent region of Argentina were given a
voucher that entitled an employer to a sizable wage subsidy.
A second sample also received the option of skill training,
while a third sample formed the control group. The authors
analyze the effects of this scheme on participants'
employment and income, using double-difference and
instrumental-variables methods to deal with potential
experimental biases, including selective compliance with the
randomized assignment. The authors find that compared with
the control group, voucher recipients had a significantly
higher probability of employment, though their current
incomes were no higher. The impact was largely confined to
women and younger workers. Labor supply effects appear to
have been important. However, training had no significant
impact. The experiment was cost-effective in reducing the
government's welfare spending, since take-up of the
subsidy by employers was low. |
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