IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ucy/cypeua/06-2015.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Are Reemployment Services Effective? Experimental Evidence from the Great Recession

Author

Listed:
  • Marios Michaelides
  • Peter Mueser

Abstract

We report the results of a random assignment study of a reemployment program implemented in the United States during the Great Recession which required Unemployment Insurance (UI) recipients to undergo an eligibility review and receive comprehensive job-counseling services. The program expedited participant exit from UI, produced substantial UI savings, and improved participant employment rates and earnings. These effects are associated with: (1) increased participant UI exit up to the time of services receipt, indicating an effect due to participant efforts to avoid program activities or failure to meet UI eligibility requirements; and (2) greater exit subsequent to services receipt, implying that the services themselves helped participants conduct an effective job search. Our findings provide compelling evidence that reemployment programs can be effective during recessions.

Suggested Citation

  • Marios Michaelides & Peter Mueser, 2015. "Are Reemployment Services Effective? Experimental Evidence from the Great Recession," University of Cyprus Working Papers in Economics 06-2015, University of Cyprus Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucy:cypeua:06-2015
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://papers.econ.ucy.ac.cy/RePEc/papers/06-15.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Linda Babcock & William Congdon & Lawrence Katz & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2012. "Notes on behavioral economics and labor market policy," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 1(1), pages 1-14, December.
    2. Luc Behaghel & Bruno Cr?pon & Marc Gurgand, 2014. "Private and Public Provision of Counseling to Job Seekers: Evidence from a Large Controlled Experiment," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(4), pages 142-174, October.
    3. Jaap H. Abbring & Gerard J. Berg & Jan C. Ours, 2005. "The Effect of Unemployment Insurance Sanctions on the Transition Rate from Unemployment to Employment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 115(505), pages 602-630, July.
    4. Federico Ravenna & Carl E. Walsh, 2012. "Screening and Labor Market Flows in a Model with Heterogeneous Workers," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 44, pages 31-71, December.
    5. Krug, Gerhard & Stephan, Gesine, 2013. "Is the Contracting-Out of Intensive Placement Services More Effective than Provision by the PES? Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 7403, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Kornfeld, Robert & Bloom, Howard S, 1999. "Measuring Program Impacts on Earnings and Employment: Do Unemployment Insurance Wage Reports from Employers Agree with Surveys of Individuals?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(1), pages 168-197, January.
    7. Lise, Jeremy & Seitz, Shannon & Smith, Jeffrey A., 2003. "Equilibrium Policy Experiments and the Evaluation of Social Programs," IZA Discussion Papers 758, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. repec:mpr:mprres:4174 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Lawrence M. Kahn, 2012. "Labor market policy: A comparative view on the costs and benefits of labor market flexibility," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 94-110, December.
    10. Marc FERRACCI & Grégory JOLIVET & Gerard J van den Berg, 2009. "Treatment Evaluation in the Case of Interaction Within Markets," Working Papers 2009-22, Center for Research in Economics and Statistics.
    11. Bart Hobijn & Aysegul Sahin, 2013. "Beveridge Curve Shifts across Countries since the Great Recession," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 61(4), pages 566-600, December.
    12. Centeno, Luis & Centeno, Mário & Novo, Álvaro A., 2009. "Evaluating job-search programs for old and young individuals: Heterogeneous impact on unemployment duration," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 12-25, January.
    13. repec:mpr:mprres:2588 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Dan A. Black & Jeffrey A. Smith & Mark C. Berger & Brett J. Noel, 2003. "Is the Threat of Reemployment Services More Effective Than the Services Themselves? Evidence from Random Assignment in the UI System," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(4), pages 1313-1327, September.
    15. Jonas Maibom & Michael Rosholm & Michael Svarer, 2017. "Experimental Evidence on the Effects of Early Meetings and Activation," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 119(3), pages 541-570, July.
    16. Paul T. Decker & Robert B. Olsen & Lance Freeman & Daniel H. Klepinger, 2000. "Assisting Unemployment Insurance Claimants: The Long-Term Impacts of the Job Search Assistance Demonstration," Mathematica Policy Research Reports a91d342072d34545ba240f269, Mathematica Policy Research.
    17. repec:iza:izawol:journl:y:2014:p:72 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Pieter Gautier & Paul Muller & Bas van der Klaauw & Michael Rosholm & Michael Svarer, 2018. "Estimating Equilibrium Effects of Job Search Assistance," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(4), pages 1073-1125.
    19. Steven J. Davis & R. Jason Faberman & John C. Haltiwanger, 2012. "Recruiting Intensity during and after the Great Recession: National and Industry Evidence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(3), pages 584-588, May.
    20. Bruno Crépon & Esther Duflo & Marc Gurgand & Roland Rathelot & Philippe Zamora, 2013. "Do Labor Market Policies have Displacement Effects? Evidence from a Clustered Randomized Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 128(2), pages 531-580.
    21. Richard Blundell & Monica Costa Dias & Costas Meghir & John Van Reenen, 2004. "Evaluating the Employment Impact of a Mandatory Job Search Program," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 2(4), pages 569-606, June.
    22. Lars Pico Geerdsen, 2006. "Is there a Threat Effect of Labour Market Programmes? A Study of ALMP in the Danish UI System," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(513), pages 738-750, July.
    23. Michael Rosholm, 2014. "Do case workers help the unemployed?," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-72, August.
    24. Graversen, Brian Krogh & van Ours, Jan C., 2008. "How to help unemployed find jobs quickly: Experimental evidence from a mandatory activation program," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(10-11), pages 2020-2035, October.
    25. Cockx, Bart & Dejemeppe, Muriel, 2012. "Monitoring job search effort: An evaluation based on a regression discontinuity design," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 729-737.
    26. Stephen A. Wandner, 2010. "Solving the Reemployment Puzzle: From Research to Policy," Books from Upjohn Press, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, number srep, August.
    27. Sedláček, Petr, 2014. "Match efficiency and firms' hiring standards," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 123-133.
    28. Robert R. Weathers II & Michelle Stegman Bailey, 2014. "The Impact of Rehabilitation and Counseling Services on the Labor Market Activity of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Beneficiaries," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(3), pages 623-648, June.
    29. Stephen A. Wandner & Randall W. Eberts, "undated". "Public workforce programs during the Great Recession," Upjohn Working Papers sawrwe14, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    30. Cockx, Bart & Ghirelli, Corinna & Van der Linden, Bruno, 2014. "Is it socially efficient to impose job search requirements on unemployed benefit claimants with hyperbolic preferences?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 80-95.
    31. Peter Dolton & Donal O'Neill, 2002. "The Long-Run Effects of Unemployment Monitoring and Work-Search Programs: Experimental Evidence from the United Kingdom," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 20(2), pages 381-403, Part.
    32. Kenneth A. Couch & Dana W. Placzek, 2010. "Earnings Losses of Displaced Workers Revisited," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(1), pages 572-589, March.
    33. Paul T. Decker & Robert B. Olsen & Lance Freeman & Daniel H. Klepinger, 2000. "Assisting Unemployment Insurance Claimants: The Long-Term Impacts of the Job Search Assistance Demonstration, Data Set," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 8d181cb5368941769e6f30d8c, Mathematica Policy Research.
    34. Cees Gorter & Guyonne R. J. Kalb, 1996. "Estimating the Effect of Counseling and Monitoring the Unemployed Using a Job Search Model," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 31(3), pages 590-610.
    35. Daniel H. Klepinger & Terry R. Johnson & Jutta M. Joesch, 2002. "Effects of Unemployment Insurance Work-Search Requirements: The Maryland Experiment," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 56(1), pages 3-22, October.
    36. Geoffrey L. Wallace & Robert Haveman, 2007. "The implications of differences between employer and worker employment|earnings reports for policy evaluation," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 737-754.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Marios Michaelides & Peter R. Mueser & Jeffrey A. Smith, 2021. "Do Reemployment Programs For The Unemployed Work For Youth? Evidence From The Great Recession In The United States," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 59(1), pages 162-185, January.
    2. Marios Michaelides & Peter Mueser, 2020. "The Labor Market Effects of US Reemployment Policy: Lessons from an Analysis of Four Programs during the Great Recession," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(4), pages 1099-1140.
    3. Dayanand S. Manoli & Marios Michaelides & Ankur Patel, 2018. "Long-Term and Heterogeneous Effects of Job-Search Assistance," NBER Working Papers 24422, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Laporšek Suzana & Vodopivec Milan & Vodopivec Matija, 2022. "Activation programs for unemployment benefit recipients in Slovenia," Review of Economic Perspectives, Sciendo, vol. 22(1), pages 75-95, June.
    5. Marios Michaelides & Peter Mueser & Jeffrey Smith, 2019. "Youth Unemployment and U.S. Job Search Assistance Policy during the Great Recession," University of Cyprus Working Papers in Economics 13-2019, University of Cyprus Department of Economics.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Peter Mueser & Marios Michaelides, 2015. "Are Reemployment Services Effective? Experimental Evidence from the Great Recession (WP 15-09 is now WP 18-04)," Working Papers 1509, Department of Economics, University of Missouri, revised Feb 2018.
    2. Marios Michaelides & Peter Mueser, 2020. "The Labor Market Effects of US Reemployment Policy: Lessons from an Analysis of Four Programs during the Great Recession," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(4), pages 1099-1140.
    3. Dayanand S. Manoli & Marios Michaelides & Ankur Patel, 2018. "Long-Term and Heterogeneous Effects of Job-Search Assistance," NBER Working Papers 24422, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Marios Michaelides & Peter Mueser, 2015. "The labor market effects of U.S. reemployment programs during the great recession," University of Cyprus Working Papers in Economics 08-2015, University of Cyprus Department of Economics.
    5. Jonas Maibom & Michael Rosholm & Michael Svarer, 2017. "Experimental Evidence on the Effects of Early Meetings and Activation," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 119(3), pages 541-570, July.
    6. Rothstein, Jesse & von Wachter, Till, 2016. "Social Experiments in the Labor Market," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt6605k20b, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.
    7. Pieter Gautier & Paul Muller & Bas van der Klaauw & Michael Rosholm & Michael Svarer, 2018. "Estimating Equilibrium Effects of Job Search Assistance," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(4), pages 1073-1125.
    8. Marios Michaelides & Peter Mueser & Jeffrey Smith, 2019. "Youth Unemployment and U.S. Job Search Assistance Policy during the Great Recession," University of Cyprus Working Papers in Economics 13-2019, University of Cyprus Department of Economics.
    9. van der Klaauw, Bas & Ziegler, Lennart, 2019. "A Field Experiment on Labor Market Speeddates for Unemployed Workers," IZA Discussion Papers 12140, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Martins, Pedro S. & Pessoa e Costa, Sofia, 2014. "Reemployment and Substitution Effects from Increased Activation: Evidence from Times of Crisis," IZA Discussion Papers 8600, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Bart Cockx & Stijn Baert, 2015. "Contracting Out Mandatory Counselling and Training for Long-Term Unemployed. Private For-Profit or Non-Profit, or Keep it Public?," CESifo Working Paper Series 5587, CESifo.
    12. Bart Cockx & Muriel Dejemeppe & Andrey Launov & Bruno Van der Linden, 2018. "Imperfect Monitoring of Job Search: Structural Estimation and Policy Design," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(1), pages 75-120.
    13. Graversen, B.K. & van Ours, J.C., 2006. "How to Help Unemployed Find Jobs Quickly : Experimental Evidence from a Mandatory Activation Program," Discussion Paper 2006-126, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    14. Gerard J. van den Berg & Bas van der Klaauw, 2019. "Structural Empirical Evaluation Of Job Search Monitoring," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 60(2), pages 879-903, May.
    15. Mergele, Lukas & Weber, Michael, 2020. "Public employment services under decentralization: Evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    16. Forslund, Anders & Laun, Lisa & Vikström, Johan & Egebark, Johan & Rödin, Magnus & Cheung, Maria, 2020. "Implementation of a labor market program with more frequent meetings in Sweden," Working Paper Series 2020:22, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    17. Lachowska, Marta & Meral, Merve & Woodbury, Stephen A., 2016. "Effects of the unemployment insurance work test on long-term employment outcomes," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 246-265.
    18. Lalive, Rafael & Cottier, Lionel & Flueckiger, Yves & Kempeneers, Pierre, 2018. "Does Job Search Assistance Really Raise Employment?," CEPR Discussion Papers 13133, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    19. Burt S. Barnow & Jeffrey Smith, 2015. "Employment and Training Programs," NBER Chapters, in: Economics of Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States, Volume 2, pages 127-234, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Jan C. van Ours, 2007. "Compulsion in active labour market programmes," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 202(1), pages 67-78, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Great Recession; job search services; unemployment; unemployment insurance; program evaluation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers
    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ucy:cypeua:06-2015. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.ucy.ac.cy/econ/?lang=en .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.