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Assisting the transition from workfare to work : a randomized experiment

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Author Info
Galasso, Emanuela
Ravallion, Martin
Salvia, Agustin

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Abstract

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 dealwith 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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Paper provided by The World Bank in its series Policy Research Working Paper Series with number 2738.

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Date of creation: 31 Dec 2001
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Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:2738

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Related research
Keywords: Poverty Impact Evaluation; Labor Policies; Labor Standards; Environmental Economics&Policies; Public Health Promotion; Environmental Economics&Policies; Labor Standards; Poverty Impact Evaluation; Health Monitoring&Evaluation; Tertiary Education;

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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.:
  1. Lawrence F. Katz & Jeffrey R. Kling & Jeffrey B. Liebman, 2001. "Moving To Opportunity In Boston: Early Results Of A Randomized Mobility Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 116(2), pages 607-654, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Besley, T. & Coate, S., 1989. "Workfare Vs. Welfare: Incentive Arguments For Work Requirements In Poverty Alleviation Programs," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 314, University of Warwick, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Jalan, Jyotsna & Ravallion, Martin, 1999. "Income gains to the poor from workfare - estimates for Argentina's TRABAJAR Program," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2149, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  4. Gary Burtless, 1985. "Are targeted wage subsidies harmful? Evidence from a wage voucher experiment," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 39(1), pages 105-114, October.
  5. J. Fitzgerald & P. Gottschalk & R. Moffitt, . "An Analysis of Sample Attrition in Panel Data: The Michigan Panel Study of Income Dynamics," Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers 1156-98, University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Jeffrey A. Smith & Petra E. Todd, 2001. "Reconciling Conflicting Evidence on the Performance of Propensity-Score Matching Methods," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(2), pages 112-118, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Heckman, James J & Ichimura, Hidehiko & Todd, Petra E, 1997. "Matching as an Econometric Evaluation Estimator: Evidence from Evaluating a Job Training Programme," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 64(4), pages 605-54, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Dubin, Jeffrey A. & Rivers, Douglas, 1993. "Experimental estimates of the impact of wage subsidies," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 56(1-2), pages 219-242, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Lipton, Michael & Ravallion, Martin, 1995. "Poverty and policy," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Hollis Chenery† & T.N. Srinivasan (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 41, pages 2551-2657 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Rajeev H. Dehejia & Sadek Wahba, 1998. "Causal Effects in Non-Experimental Studies: Re-Evaluating the Evaluation of Training Programs," NBER Working Papers 6586, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. J.D. Angrist & Guido W. Imbens & D.B. Rubin, 1993. "Identification of Causal Effects Using Instrumental Variables," NBER Technical Working Papers 0136, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Lawrence F. Katz, 1996. "Wage Subsidies for the Disadvantaged," NBER Working Papers 5679, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Brian Bell & Richard Blundell & John Van Reenen, 1999. "Getting the unemployed back to work: the role of targeted wage subsidies," IFS Working Papers W99/12, Institute for Fiscal Studies. [Downloadable!]
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(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.)

  1. Ana Corbacho & Mercedes Garcia-Escribano & Gabriela Inchauste, 2003. "Argentina: Macroeconomic Crisis and Household Vulnerability," IMF Working Papers 03/89, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
  2. Betcherman, Gordon & Daysal, N. Meltem & Pagés, Carmen, 2008. "Do Employment Subsidies Work? Evidence from Regionally Targeted Subsidies in Turkey," IZA Discussion Papers 3508, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  3. Coady, David P., 2004. "Designing and evaluating social safety nets," FCND discussion papers 172, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). [Downloadable!]
  4. Fajnzylber, Pablo & Maloney, William F. & Rojas, Gabriel V. Montes, 2006. "Releasing constraints to growth or pushing on a string ? the impact of credit, training, business associations, and taxes on the performance of Mexican micro-firms," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3807, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
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