IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp17470.html

Investigating the Impact of Integration Agreements on Labor Market Outcomes for Welfare Recipients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Author

Listed:
  • van den Berg, Gerard J.

    (University of Groningen)

  • Bernhard, Sarah

    (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg)

  • Stephan, Gesine

    (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg)

  • Uhlendorff, Arne

    (CREST)

Abstract

Integration agreements (IA) outline the efforts the jobseeker should undertake to find employment and specify the services that the caseworker would provide to assist them in their job search. The agreements include a declaration of legal consequences, and punitive benefit sanctions could be imposed based on this declaration. Recent evidence has shown that these IAs are effective for recipients of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. Using a randomized controlled trial, this paper investigates whether IAs support the integration of welfare benefit recipients into the labor market. This integration is of utmost importance from a policy and societal point of view. Newly registered recipients of means-tested benefits were randomly assigned to one of three groups, receiving either a) a standard integration agreement with the accompanying declaration of legal consequences at the beginning of the welfare spell, or b) an integration agreement without such a declaration, or c) no integration agreement within the first six months of the benefit receipt. Findings indicate that, on average, group assignment has no effect on the transition out of welfare or entry into employment. Based on a Random Forest analysis to capture heterogeneity, we find no effect by the degree of labor market prospects either.

Suggested Citation

  • van den Berg, Gerard J. & Bernhard, Sarah & Stephan, Gesine & Uhlendorff, Arne, 2024. "Investigating the Impact of Integration Agreements on Labor Market Outcomes for Welfare Recipients: A Randomized Controlled Trial," IZA Discussion Papers 17470, IZA Network @ LISER.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17470
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp17470.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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.
    2. Gerard J. van den Berg & Bas van der Klaauw & Jan C. van Ours, 2004. "Punitive Sanctions and the Transition Rate from Welfare to Work," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 22(1), pages 211-241, January.
    3. J. van den Berg, Gerard & Kunaschk, Max & Lang, Julia & Stephan, Gesine & Uhlendorff, Arne, 2023. "Predicting re-employment: machine learning versus assessments by unemployed workers and by their caseworkers," Working Paper Series 2023:22, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    4. Gerard J. van den Berg & Barbara Hofmann & Gesine Stephan & Arne Uhlendorff, 2025. "Mandatory Integration Agreements For Unemployed Job Seekers: A Randomized Controlled Field Experiment In Germany," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 66(1), pages 79-105, February.
    5. Bruno Crépon & Gerard J. van den Berg, 2016. "Active Labor Market Policies," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 8(1), pages 521-546, October.
    6. Amelie Schiprowski & Julia Schmidtke & Johannes Schmieder & Simon Trenkle, 2024. "The Effects of Unemployment Insurance Caseworkers on Job Search Effort," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 114, pages 567-571, May.
    7. Romano, Joseph P. & Wolf, Michael, 2016. "Efficient computation of adjusted p-values for resampling-based stepdown multiple testing," Statistics & Probability Letters, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 38-40.
    8. Bennmarker, Helge & Grönqvist, Erik & Öckert, Björn, 2013. "Effects of contracting out employment services: Evidence from a randomized experiment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 68-84.
    9. Joseph P. Romano & Michael Wolf, 2005. "Exact and Approximate Stepdown Methods for Multiple Hypothesis Testing," Journal of the American Statistical Association, American Statistical Association, vol. 100, pages 94-108, March.
    10. Senghaas, Monika & Bernhard, Sarah & Freier, Carolin, 2020. "Eingliederungsvereinbarungen aus Sicht der Jobcenter: Pflichten der Arbeitsuchenden nehmen viel Raum ein," IAB-Kurzbericht 202005, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    11. Abbring, Jaap H & van den Berg, Gerard J, 2005. "Social experiments and intrumental variables with duration outcomes," Working Paper Series 2005:11, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    12. Matthias Schonlau & Rosie Yuyan Zou, 2020. "The random forest algorithm for statistical learning," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 20(1), pages 3-29, March.
    13. repec:hal:pseose:halshs-01067926 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Ruud Gerards & Riccardo Welters, 2022. "Does eliminating benefit eligibility requirements improve unemployed job search and labour market outcomes?," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(10), pages 955-958, June.
    15. van den Berg, Gerard J. & Kesternich, Iris & Müller, Gerrit & Siflinger, Bettina M., 2024. "Reciprocity and the interaction between the unemployed and the caseworker," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. van den Berg, Gerard J. & Stephan, Gesine & Uhlendorff, Arne, 2025. "Do Early Active Labor Market Policies Improve Outcomes of Not-Yet-Unemployed Workers? Findings from a Randomized Field Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 17612, IZA Network @ LISER.
    2. Mergele, Lukas & Weber, Michael, 2020. "Public employment services under decentralization: Evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    3. Stephan, Gesine & Hetschko, Clemens & Schmidtke, Julia & Eid, Michael & Lawes, Mario, 2024. "Feeling Observed? A Field Experiment on the Effects of Intense Survey Participation on Job Seekers' Labour Market Outcomes," IZA Discussion Papers 17347, IZA Network @ LISER.
    4. Lehner, Lukas & Kasy, Maximilian, 2022. "Employing the unemployed of Marienthal: Evaluation of a guaranteed job program," INET Oxford Working Papers 2022-29, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    5. Muller, Paul & van der Klaauw, Bas & Heyma, Arjan, 2017. "Comparing Econometric Methods to Empirically Evaluate Job-Search Assistance," IZA Discussion Papers 10531, IZA Network @ LISER.
    6. Mergele, Lukas & Weber, Michael, 2020. "Public employment services under decentralization: Evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    7. 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.
    8. Tomasz Gajderowicz & Maciej Jakubowski, 2019. "What works for disadvantaged unemployed: Private or public ALMP services? Evidence from (unplanned) RCT in Poland," Working Papers 2019-04, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    9. Collewet, Marion & Fairley, Kim & Kessels, Roselinde & Knoef, Marike & van Vliet, Olaf, 2024. "The design of welfare: unraveling taxpayers' preferences," OSF Preprints 4am7e, Center for Open Science.
    10. Rute M. Caeiro & Pedro C. Vicente, 2020. "Knowledge of vitamin A deficiency and crop adoption: Evidence from a field experiment in Mozambique," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(2), pages 175-190, March.
    11. Jaschke Philipp & Sulin Sardoschau & Marco Tabellini, 2021. "Scared Straight? Threat and Assimilation of Refugees in Germany," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 2136, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
    12. Grácio, Matilde & Vicente, Pedro C., 2021. "Information, get-out-the-vote messages, and peer influence: Causal effects on political behavior in Mozambique," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    13. Paul Dolan & Christian Krekel & Helen Lee & Claire Marshall & Ganga Shreedhar & Allison Smith, 2021. "Happy to help: The welfare effects of a nationwide micro-volunteering programme," CEP Discussion Papers dp1772, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    14. Bruno Crépon & Gerard J. van den Berg, 2016. "Active Labor Market Policies," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 8(1), pages 521-546, October.
    15. Lydia Mechtenberg & Grischa Perino & Nicolas Treich & Jean-Robert Tyran & Stephanie Wang, 2021. "Self-Signaling in Moral Voting," Discussion Papers 21-01, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    16. Rehwald, Kai & Rosholm, Michael & Svarer, Michael, 2015. "Are Public or Private Providers of Employment Services More Effective? Evidence from a Randomized Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 9365, IZA Network @ LISER.
    17. Chowdhury, Shyamal & Hasan, Syed & Sharma, Uttam, 2024. "The Role of Trainee Selection in the Effectiveness of Vocational Training: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Nepal," IZA Discussion Papers 16705, IZA Network @ LISER.
    18. Krekel, Christian & De Neve, Jan-Emmanuel & Fancourt, Daisy & Layard, Richard, 2021. "A local community course that raises wellbeing and pro-sociality: Evidence from a randomised controlled trial," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 322-336.
    19. Hvidman, Charlotte & Koch, Alexander K. & Nafziger, Julia & Nielsen, Søren Albeck & Rosholm, Michael, 2024. "An intensive, school-based learning camp targeting academic and non-cognitive skills evaluated in a randomized trial," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    20. Chor, Elise & Andresen, Martin Eckhoff & Kalil, Ariel, 2016. "The impact of universal prekindergarten on family behavior and child outcomes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 168-181.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Public Policy
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

    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:iza:izadps:dp17470. 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: Mark Fallak (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaalu.html .

    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.