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Providing Government Assistance Online: A Field Experiment with the Unemployed

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  • Guglielmo Briscese
  • Giulio Zanella
  • Veronica Quinn

Abstract

Welfare programs often consist of mandated in‐person assistance services. This feature can introduce an engagement barrier for some beneficiaries. Offering some of these services online can address this problem while also reducing administrative costs. In a field experiment with about 2,700 beneficiaries of unemployment benefits, we evaluate the effectiveness of a self‐directed website that supplements assistance traditionally delivered by job center staff. Tracking employment outcomes for nearly two years, we find that the intervention significantly increased job‐finding rates for some groups. Towards the end of the first year, the effect is still 7 percentage points (25 percent higher than in the control group) for prime‐age job seekers (35 to 50 years old) and 9 percentage points (35 percent higher than the control group) for women, reversing the job‐finding gender gap. We discuss opportunities for governments to scale up similar low‐cost interventions to assist social insurance and welfare beneficiaries online.

Suggested Citation

  • Guglielmo Briscese & Giulio Zanella & Veronica Quinn, 2022. "Providing Government Assistance Online: A Field Experiment with the Unemployed," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(2), pages 579-602, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jpamgt:v:41:y:2022:i:2:p:579-602
    DOI: 10.1002/pam.22368
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