Project acronym ALMP_ECON
Project Effective evaluation of active labour market policies in social insurance programs - improving the interaction between econometric evaluation estimators and economic theory
Researcher (PI) Bas Van Der Klaauw
Host Institution (HI) STICHTING VU
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH1, ERC-2007-StG
Summary In most European countries social insurance programs, like welfare, unemployment insurance and disability insurance are characterized by low reemployment rates. Therefore, governments spend huge amounts of money on active labour market programs, which should help individuals in finding work. Recent surveys indicate that programs which aim at intensifying job search behaviour are much more effective than schooling programs for improving human capital. A second conclusion from these surveys is that despite the size of the spendings on these programs, evidence on its effectiveness is limited. This research proposal aims at developing an economic framework that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of popular programs like offering reemployment bonuses, fraud detection, workfare and job search monitoring. The main innovation is that I will combine economic theory with recently developed econometric techniques and detailed administrative data sets, which have not been explored before. While most of the literature only focuses on short-term outcomes, the available data allow me to also consider the long-term effectiveness of programs. The key advantage of an economic model is that I can compare the effectiveness of the different programs, consider modifications of programs and combinations of programs. Furthermore, using an economic model I can construct profiling measures to improve the targeting of programs to subsamples of the population. This is particularly relevant if the effectiveness of programs differs between individuals or depends on the moment in time the program is offered. Therefore, the results from this research will not only be of scientific interest, but will also be of great value to policymakers.
Summary
In most European countries social insurance programs, like welfare, unemployment insurance and disability insurance are characterized by low reemployment rates. Therefore, governments spend huge amounts of money on active labour market programs, which should help individuals in finding work. Recent surveys indicate that programs which aim at intensifying job search behaviour are much more effective than schooling programs for improving human capital. A second conclusion from these surveys is that despite the size of the spendings on these programs, evidence on its effectiveness is limited. This research proposal aims at developing an economic framework that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of popular programs like offering reemployment bonuses, fraud detection, workfare and job search monitoring. The main innovation is that I will combine economic theory with recently developed econometric techniques and detailed administrative data sets, which have not been explored before. While most of the literature only focuses on short-term outcomes, the available data allow me to also consider the long-term effectiveness of programs. The key advantage of an economic model is that I can compare the effectiveness of the different programs, consider modifications of programs and combinations of programs. Furthermore, using an economic model I can construct profiling measures to improve the targeting of programs to subsamples of the population. This is particularly relevant if the effectiveness of programs differs between individuals or depends on the moment in time the program is offered. Therefore, the results from this research will not only be of scientific interest, but will also be of great value to policymakers.
Max ERC Funding
550 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-07-01, End date: 2013-06-30
Project acronym MADEM
Project Market Design and the Evolution of Markets
Researcher (PI) Estelle Cantillon
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITE LIBRE DE BRUXELLES
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH1, ERC-2007-StG
Summary The broad aim of this research program is to understand how markets get created, how they evolve, and how specific market organizations affect economic outcomes. It combines theoretical and empirical analyses of specific markets and includes the development of new methods to map theory to data and vice versa. Each market provides a concrete ground to explore the broad questions the project addresses and motivates a distinct set of questions. The first class of markets the research will consider are financial markets. These can be viewed as the archetype of large markets where prices play the main role in the allocation. The focus there will on market creation, market evolution and the process of competition. The second class of markets the research will consider are allocation mechanisms where prices do not play a role in the allocation, making efficiency hard to obtain. The focus there will be on strategic manipulation of preferences by participants, their consequences on outcomes and possible remedies. Together, these markets will contribute to our understanding of how market rules affect outcomes and performance, to what extent laissez-faire evolution fosters efficient market organizations, and when and how public intervention can help generate better market organizations.
Summary
The broad aim of this research program is to understand how markets get created, how they evolve, and how specific market organizations affect economic outcomes. It combines theoretical and empirical analyses of specific markets and includes the development of new methods to map theory to data and vice versa. Each market provides a concrete ground to explore the broad questions the project addresses and motivates a distinct set of questions. The first class of markets the research will consider are financial markets. These can be viewed as the archetype of large markets where prices play the main role in the allocation. The focus there will on market creation, market evolution and the process of competition. The second class of markets the research will consider are allocation mechanisms where prices do not play a role in the allocation, making efficiency hard to obtain. The focus there will be on strategic manipulation of preferences by participants, their consequences on outcomes and possible remedies. Together, these markets will contribute to our understanding of how market rules affect outcomes and performance, to what extent laissez-faire evolution fosters efficient market organizations, and when and how public intervention can help generate better market organizations.
Max ERC Funding
840 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-09-01, End date: 2014-02-28
