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The Trouble with Take-Up

Author

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  • Doorley Karina

    (8841 Economic and Social Research Institute , Dublin, Ireland)

  • Kakoulidou Theano

    (8841 Economic and Social Research Institute , Dublin, Ireland)

Abstract

Take-up of social welfare is key to its success in alleviating poverty. For a variety of reasons, including stigma, transaction costs and information asymmetry, take-up of welfare benefits is imperfect. This research note discusses the issue of take-up of social welfare and its measurement. We explore the difficulties of estimating welfare take-up, using the example of the Irish Working Family Payment (WFP) and two microsimulation models. We show how estimates of take-up can vary depending on the dataset used for simulation. We then estimate take-up of the WFP, updating the most recent estimate from 2005. Lastly, we discuss policy lessons.

Suggested Citation

  • Doorley Karina & Kakoulidou Theano, 2024. "The Trouble with Take-Up," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 24(2), pages 673-682, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejeap:v:24:y:2024:i:2:p:673-682:n:8
    DOI: 10.1515/bejeap-2023-0170
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