Dynamic evaluation of job search assistance

Abstract

Dynamic Evaluation of Job Search Assistance *This paper evaluates a job search assistance program for unemployment insurance recipients. The assignment to the program is dynamic. We provide a discussion on dynamic treatment effects and identification conditions. In the empirical analyses we use administrative data from a unique institutional environment. This allows us to compare different microeconometric evaluation estimators. All estimators find that the job search assistance program reduces the exit to work, in particular when provided early during the spell of unemployment. Furthermore, continuous-time (timing-of-events and regression discontinuity) methods are more robust than discrete-time (propensity score and regression discontinuity) methods.

Instrumental Variable Estimation of Dynamic Treatment Effects on a Duration Outcome

“…The first set of papers assumes conditional unconfoundedness of the treatment. See Sianesi (2004), Abbring and Van den Berg (2005); Lechner (2009), Lechner and Miquel (2010), Vikström (2017) and Van den Berg et al (2020b), Kastoryano and van der Klaauw (2022) for the literature in econometrics. Hernán and Robins (2010) give an excellent overview of the methods available in the biostatistics literature to infer causal effects in this context.…”