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In this paper, we evaluate the Swedish self-employment start-up program based on a matching approach using data from administrative records. In addition to information of labor market history, traditional human capital and socio-economic variables, the data at hand also include information on the selfemployment history of participants and nonparticipants as well as that of their parents. Our results indicate that the start-up subsidy program for unemployed persons is a successful program regarding the integration of the unemployed into the mainstream of the labor market. We find that, relative to members of control groups, participants, on average, have an increased probability of unsubsidized employment. Our analysis of different educational backgrounds presents the strongest employment effects for the low educated unemployed.

In this article, the authors evaluate a Swedish pilot scheme that targeted immigrants with weak Swedish-language skills registered as unemployed at public employment offices. By sandwiching work-oriented language teaching and practical workplace training, the project aimed at enhancing the employability of project participants but also at alerting them to and preparing them for available training and further education opportunities. For the evaluation, a comparison group of nonparticipants was selected using a propensity score methodology. The results show that participation in the pilot scheme project resulted in much speedier transfers from open unemployment to employment, training, and education.

PurposeOne of the most successful labour market programmes in Sweden is a start‐up subsidy programme for job seekers registered at the public employment service. The purpose of this paper is to examine if there are gender differences in outcomes of this programme.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis compares the outcome for female participants of the start‐up programme with that of four other matched groups: male and female non‐participants, male non‐participants, female non‐participants, and male participants.FindingsThe authors' results indicate that females entering the programme have a higher success rate than both female and male non‐participants; however, the impact is less in comparison with male than with female non‐participants. Compared to a matched sample of males in the start‐up scheme, female participants are less successful.Originality/valueThe paper concludes is that it is essential to find evidence regarding which programmes work for which target groups and to find out why effects differ by categories. Such knowledge could be used for fine‐tuning labour market policy programmes.

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