Guaranteed minimum income and unemployment duration in France

Abstract

In this article, we use data from the European Community Household Panel to evaluate the impact of a French guaranteed income program, the RMI, on the the hazard out of unemployment. Self-selection into the program is corrected using a multivariate duration model developed by Abbring and van den Berg (2003). We find that RMI receipt has a strong negative impact during the first months of program participation, but that this disincentive effect quickly falls to insignificant levels after six months. Household structure also appears to be an important determinant of the importance of the adverse effect of program participation.

Cash transfers and female labor force participation: the case of AUH in Argentina

“…Lemieux and Milligan (2004) identify a significant reduction both of the employment rate and the total hours worked by participants of a social assistance transfer in Quebec. Terracol (2009) and Bargain and Doorley (2011) evaluate the impact on the labor market of a means-tested program in France. They find an important fall in labor participation and larger unemployment duration, since the transfer reception does not require any condition on seeking job.…”

Subsidized temporary jobs: lock-in and stepping stone effects

“…Control variables are sex, age, education, nationality, household structure and cumulative unemployment during the last five years. We also control for the reason of entry into unemployment and for receipt of unemployment benefit and a French guaranteed minimum income benefit, the RMI (Terracol (2009)). Local macroeconomic conditions are controlled for via the local unemployment rate.…”

Evaluating social assistance reforms under programme heterogeneity and alternative measures of success

“…Work-related reforms of welfare policies have also given rise to a considerable European literature. A huge range of experiences has already been assessed, including extensive activation programmes in the field of social security and labour market policies in the Nordic countries (Carling & Richardson, 2004;Forslund & Krueger, 2010;Sianesi, 2004Sianesi, , 2008, specific targeted welfare-to-work initiatives in The Netherlands (Koning, 2009;Van Oorschot, 2002), new policies focusing on low-income families with children combining welfare reforms with earned income tax credits in the UK (Blundell & Meghir, 2002;Gregg, Harkness, & Smith, 2009;Lydon & Walker, 2005), welfare-to-work programmes and job search enforcement in Germany (Huber, Lechner, Wunsch, & Walter, 2009) or 'insertion contracts' embedded in minimum income programmes in France and Spain (Ayala & Rodríguez, 2006;Terracol, 2009;Zoyem, 2001). In general terms, there is voluminous evidence showing that policy changes appear to have mattered.…”