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Coaching, Counseling, Case-Working: Do They Help the Older Unemployed Out of Benefit Receipt and Back into the Labor Market?

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  • Boockmann, Bernhard

    (Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung (IAW))

  • Brändle, Tobias

    (Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung (IAW))

Abstract

Job search assistance and intensified counseling have been found to be effective for labor market integration by a large number of studies, but the evidence for older and hard-to-place unemployed individuals more specifically is mixed. In this paper we present key results from the evaluation of "Perspektive 50plus", a large-scale active labor market program directed at the older unemployed in Germany. To identify the treatment effects, we exploit regional variation in program participation. Based on survey evidence, we argue that participation of regions is not endogenous in the vast majority of cases. We use a combination of different evaluation estimators to check the sensitivity of the results to selection, substitution and local labor market effects. We find large positive effects of the program in the range of five to ten percentage points on integration into unsubsidized employment. However, there are also substantial lock-in effects, such that program participants have a higher probability of remaining on public welfare benefit receipt for up to one year after commencing the program.

Suggested Citation

  • Boockmann, Bernhard & Brändle, Tobias, 2015. "Coaching, Counseling, Case-Working: Do They Help the Older Unemployed Out of Benefit Receipt and Back into the Labor Market?," IZA Discussion Papers 8811, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8811
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    Cited by:

    1. Bernhard Boockmann & Tobias Brändle, 2015. "Integrating Older Employees into the Labour Market – Evidence from a German Labour Market Programme," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 13(3), pages 59-64, October.
    2. Alexander Spermann, 2015. "How to fight long-term unemployment: lessons from Germany," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-15, December.
    3. repec:ces:ifodic:v:13:y:2015:i:3:p:19172607 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. John S. Heywood & Uwe Jirjahn, 2016. "The hiring and employment of older workers in Germany: a comparative perspective [Die Beschäftigung und Neueinstellung älterer Arbeitnehmer in Deutschland: Eine vergleichende Perspektive]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 49(4), pages 349-366, December.
    5. Bernhard Boockmann & Tobias Brändle, 2015. "Integrating Older Employees into the Labour Market – Evidence from a German Labour Market Programme," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 13(03), pages 59-64, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    evaluation; active labor market programs; long-term unemployment; older unemployed;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Public Policy
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination

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