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Reciprocity and the Interaction between the Unemployed and the Caseworker

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  • Gerard J. Van den Berg
  • Iris Kesternich
  • Gerrit Müller
  • Bettina Siflinger

Abstract

We investigate how negatively reciprocal traits of unemployed individuals interact with “sticks” policies imposing constraints on individual job search effort in the context of the German welfare system. For this we merge survey data of long-term unemployed individuals, containing indicators of reciprocity as a personality trait, to a unique set of register data on all unemployed coached by the same team of caseworkers and their treatments. We find that the combination of a higher negative reciprocity and a stricter regime have a negative interaction effect on search effort exerted by the unemployed. The results are stronger for males than for females. Stricter regimes may therefore drive long-term unemployed males with certain types of social preferences further away from the labor market.

Suggested Citation

  • Gerard J. Van den Berg & Iris Kesternich & Gerrit Müller & Bettina Siflinger, 2019. "Reciprocity and the Interaction between the Unemployed and the Caseworker," CESifo Working Paper Series 7947, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7947
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    Cited by:

    1. Joachim Wilde, 2022. "What drives trust of the long‐term unemployed in their caseworkers?," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 36(2), pages 231-250, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    behavioral response; active labor market policy; monitoring; welfare; job search;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • N44 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Europe: 1913-

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