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Stigma and Take-up of Labor Market Assistance: Evidence from Two Field Experiments

Author

Listed:
  • Osman, Adam

    (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

  • Speer, Jamin D.

    (University of Memphis)

Abstract

Aversion to "stigma" - disutility associated with a program or activity due to beliefs about how it is perceived - may affect labor market choices and utilization of social programs, but empirical evidence of its importance is scarce. Using two randomized field experiments, we show that stigma can affect consequential labor market decisions. Treatments designed to alleviate stigma concerns about taking entry-level jobs - such as how those jobs are perceived by society - had small average effects on take-up of job assistance programs. However, using compositional analysis and machine learning methods, we document large heterogeneity in the responses to our treatments. Stigma significantly affects the composition of who takes up a program: the treatments were successful in overcoming stigma for older, wealthier, and working respondents. For other people, we show that our treatments merely increased the salience of the stigma without dispelling it. We conclude that social image concerns affect labor market decisions and that messaging surrounding programs can have important effects on program take-up and composition.

Suggested Citation

  • Osman, Adam & Speer, Jamin D., 2023. "Stigma and Take-up of Labor Market Assistance: Evidence from Two Field Experiments," IZA Discussion Papers 16599, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16599
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    stigma; experiment; machine learning;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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