"One of the most far-reaching proposals for reform in the field of labour market policy is to link the receipt of transfer payments in general to a 'service in return' from the recipient. This concept operates under the name of workfare. This paper examines the possibilities and limits of workfare in dealing with labour market problems. This includes the labour supply effects, the life satisfaction of welfare recipients and the balancing of the labour market taking into account the fiscal consequences. The paper shows that one fundamental premise for the effectiveness of a wide-ranging workfare does not apply without restriction. Empirical findings suggest that employment increases life satisfaction even when the income level is controlled for. Thus workfare need not have a 'deterrent effect'. Furthermore the labour-market-policy utility as an activation alternative is limited due to the possible risks of displacement. Nevertheless, elements of workfare definitely have a place in the context of a wide-ranging set of labour market policy instruments." (author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany] in its series IAB Discussion Paper with number
200517.
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
Cited by: (explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)
Blien, Uwe & Kirchhof, Kai & Ludewig, Oliver, 2006.
"Agglomeration effects on labour demand,"
IAB Discussion Paper
200628, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
[Downloadable!]
Eckey, Hans-Friedrich & Schwengler, Barbara & Türck, Matthias, 2007.
"Vergleich von deutschen Arbeitsmarktregionen,"
IAB Discussion Paper
200703, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
[Downloadable!]