Administrative data of the unemployment insurance system in Switzerland have been made available by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (seco) for specific research purposes. They contain rich information about unemployed and job seekers. The records are linked to social security data. The combination of the two sources leads to a very rich database. This paper describes the data as well as some administrative procedures generating it.
We investigate the wage effects of privatization using person-level firm-based panel datasets from one privatized and one nonprivatized public sector firm in the same country for the years immediately before and after privatization. Thus, we can analyze the before-after effects of privatization while controlling for individual and time fixed effects and allowing for firm-specific trends. Because the change in wage regime coincides with substantial losses in the market share of the privatized but not the nonprivatized firm, the situation approximates a natural experiment in switching workers from the public to the private sector. We find significant changes in the wage structure of the privatized but not the nonprivatized firm. Specifically, wage and wage growth distributions widened significantly after privatization. Conditioning on worker characteristics, we find that younger employees and those with shorter tenure gained from privatization, while high-skilled workers gained relative to medium-skilled workers. Surprisingly, low-skilled workers also gained, although seemingly in the form of temporary compensation
intended to increase acceptance of privatization
We investigate active labor market programs in Austria. We find only small effects, if any, for most of the programs. However, the programs may have unintended consequences for women. In particular for younger women, a key effect of the programs and one reason for the male-female effect differential that is observed in the literature is to reduce or postpone pregnancies and to increase their attachment to the labor force. Furthermore, the variables capturing pregnancies and times of parental leave play a key role in removing selection bias.
We analyse the effects of government-sponsored training for the unemployed conducted during East German transition. For the microeconometric analysis, we use a new, large and informative administrative database that allows us to use matching methods to address potential selection bias, to study different types of programmes, and to observe labour market outcomes over 8 years. We find strong evidence that, on average, the training programmes under investigation increase long-term employment prospects and earnings. However, as an important exception, the longer training programmes are not helpful for their male participants. At least part of the explanation for this negative result is that caseworkers severely misjudged the structure of the future demand for skills.
This paper approaches the problem of an econometric evaluation of dynamic programme sequences from an potential outcome perspective. The identifying power of several different assumptions about the connection between the dynamic selection process and the potential outcomes of different programme sequences is discussed. The assumptions invoke different types of randomisation compatible with different selection regimes. Parametric forms are not involved. When participation in the sequences is decided every period depending on the success in the past, the resulting endogeneity problem destroys nonparametric identification for many parameters of interest, so that several dynamic versions of the average treatment effects on the treated parameter are not identified. However, some interesting dynamic forms of the average treatment effect are still identified. We also present a bounds analysis to learn from the data as much as possible, even when parts of the identifying assumptions are violated.
This paper approaches the dynamic analysis of the effects of training programs for the unemployed in West Germany, or in general the effects of sequences of interventions, from a potential outcome perspective. The identifying power of different assumptions concerning the connection between the dynamic selection process and the outcomes of different sequences is discussed. When participation in the particular sequence of programs is decided period by period depending on its success so far, many parameters of interest are no longer identified. Nevertheless, some interesting dynamic forms of the average treatment effect are identified by a sequential randomization assumption. Based on this approach, we present some new results on the effectiveness of West-German training programs.
Das Ziel dieser mikroökonometrischen Studie ist eine Abschätzung der Wirkungen der ar-beitsmarktlichen Massnahmen der Schweiz (AMM) auf die individuellen Erwerbswahrscheinlichkeiten potentieller Teilnehmer auf Basis administrativer Daten der Arbeitslosenversicherung und der Rentenversicherung. Es wird ein sehr grosser Teil der AMM gesamthaft unter Berücksichtigung ihrer heterogenen Programmstruktur betrachtet. Aus diesem Grund wurden die Massnahmen in acht unterschiedliche Gruppen mit jeweils ähnlichen Programmtypen aufgeteilt. Als weitere Vergleichsgruppe wurden die Personen herangezogen, die an keiner Massnahme teilnahmen. Die Ergebnisse zeichnen ein recht differenziertes Bild der Wirksam der einzelnen Pro-gramme, das sich zusammengefasst auf folgenden Nenner bringen lässt: Die sogenannten ZWISCHENVERDIENSTE haben als einziges Programm einen klar positiven Effekt auf die Wiederbeschäftigungschancen, während die Programme zur VORÜBERGEHENDEN BESCHÄFTIGUNG zumindest kurzfristig, wahrscheinlich aber auch mittelfristig negativ wirken. Für die übrigen Bestandteile der AMM lassen sich keine so eindeutigen Ergebnisse finden.
Not available in German. Subsidised employment is an important tool of active labour market policies to improve the chances of the unemployed to find permanent employment. Using informative individual administrative data we investigate the effects of two different schemes of subsidised temporary employment implemented in Switzerland. One scheme operates as a non-profit employment programme (EP), whereas the other one is a subsidy for temporary jobs (TEMP) in firms operating in competitive markets. Using econometric matching methods we find that TEMP is considerably more successful in getting the unemployed back into work than EP. We also find that compared to nonparticipation both programmes are ineffective for unemployed who find job easily anyway as well as for those with short unemployment duration. For unemployed with potentially long unemployment duration and for actual long term unemployed, both programmes may have positive effects, but the effect of TEMP is much larger.
Mit der Reform des Arbeitslosenversicherungsgesetzes im Jahre 1996 nahm die Bedeutung der arbeitsmarktlichen Massnahmen (AMM) in der Schweiz stark zu. Die vorliegende Studie ist ein Teilprojekt des gesamtschweizerischen Evaluationsprogramms der AMM, welches durch die Aufsichtskommission des Ausgleichsfonds der Arbeitslosenversicherung im Juli 1997 genehmigt wurde. Da die Evaluationsprojekte eng zusammenhängen, wird das Staatsekretariat für Wirtschaft (seco) die Forschungsergebnisse gesamthaft vorstellen. Das Programm umfasst ebenfalls Teilprojekte zur Evaluation der Regionalen Arbeitsvermittlungszentren (RAV) aus volkswirtschaftlicher Sicht. Dieser Artikel ist eine Zusammenfassung unseres Berichtes. Der vollständige Bericht wird in der seco-Schriftenreihe erscheinen. Die Autoren danken den Mitarbeitern des seco und der Begleitgruppe für nützliche Hinweise und Anregungen. Ziel dieser mikro-ökonometrischen Studie ist eine Abschätzung der Wirkungen der AMM auf die individuellen Erwerbswahrscheinlichkeiten auf Basis administrativer Daten der Arbeitslosenversicherung und der AHV. Nach unserer Analyse haben Zwischenverdienste als einziges Programm einen klar positiven Effekt auf die Wiederbeschäftigungschancen, während die Programme zur vorübergehenden Beschäftigung zumindest kurzfristig, wahrscheinlich aber auch mittelfristig negativ wirken. Für die übrigen Bestandteile der AMM lassen sich keine so eindeutigen Ergebnisse finden. Download Discussion Paper (Deutsch): (pdf, 143 kb) Download Discussion Paper (Französisch): (pdf, 153 kb) Download Schlussbericht (Deutsch): (pdf, 2966 kb)
