Abstract
Hiring subsidies are widely used to create (stable) employment for the long-term unemployed. This paper exploits the abolition of a hiring subsidy targeted at long-term unemployed jobseekers over 45 years of age in Belgium to evaluate its effectiveness in the short and medium run. Based on a triple difference methodology the hiring subsidy
is shown to increase the job finding rate by 13% without any evidence of spill-over effects. This effect is driven by a positive effect on individuals with at least a bachelor’s
degree. However, the hiring subsidy mainly created temporary short-lived employment: eligible jobseekers were not more likely to find employment that lasted at least twelve
consecutive months than ineligible jobseekers.
is shown to increase the job finding rate by 13% without any evidence of spill-over effects. This effect is driven by a positive effect on individuals with at least a bachelor’s
degree. However, the hiring subsidy mainly created temporary short-lived employment: eligible jobseekers were not more likely to find employment that lasted at least twelve
consecutive months than ineligible jobseekers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | Maastricht |
| Publisher | ROA |
| Number of pages | 38 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 4 Oct 2021 |
Publication series
| Series | ROA Research Memoranda |
|---|---|
| Number | 005 |
JEL classifications
- h22 - Taxation and Subsidies: Incidence
- j08 - Labor Economics Policies
- j18 - Demographic Economics: Public Policy
- j23 - Labor Demand
- j38 - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: Public Policy
- j64 - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
- j65 - "Unemployment Insurance; Severance Pay; Plant Closings"
- j68 - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies: Public Policy
Keywords
- hiring subsidies
- long-term unemployment
- prime-aged jobseekers
- triple difference
- temporary help agencies