IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ehl/lserod/20354.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Can active labour market policy work? Some theoretical considerations

Author

Listed:
  • Richardson, J.

Abstract

Persistent high unemployment in Europe has led to renewed interest in Active Labour Market Policy. However, most existing theory suggests that its effects are ambiguous at best. We argue that job search assistance and wage subsidies are more appropriately modelled as a transition rather than the state-based approach of existing theory. This eliminates the ambiguity. We present two main models, one in which negative duration dependence in unemployment arises from state dependence, the other where it is due to heterogeneity. In both cases policy is unambiguously effective provided it is targeted on those who are, or are most likely to become, long-term unemployed. Some crude estimates suggest that Active Labour Market Policies could have a significant, though not spectacular, effect in reducing unemployment.

Suggested Citation

  • Richardson, J., 1997. "Can active labour market policy work? Some theoretical considerations," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 20354, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:20354
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/20354/
    File Function: Open access version.
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Layard, Richard & Nickell, Stephen & Jackman, Richard, 2005. "Unemployment: Macroeconomic Performance and the Labour Market," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199279173.
    2. repec:bla:econom:v:62:y:1995:i:247:p:353-71 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Warr, Peter & Jackson, Paul, 1987. "Adapting to the unemployed role: A longitudinal investigation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 25(11), pages 1219-1224, January.
    4. Bishop, John & Haveman, Robert, 1979. "Selective Employment Subsidies: Can Okun's Law be Repealed?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 69(2), pages 124-130, May.
    5. Holmlund, Bertil & Linden, Johan, 1993. "Job matching, temporary public employment, and equilibrium unemployment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 329-343, July.
    6. Calmfors, Lars & Forslund, Anders, 1991. "Real-Wage Determination and Labour Market Policies: The Swedish Experience," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 101(408), pages 1130-1148, September.
    7. Breen, R. & Halpin, B., 1989. "Subsidising Jobs: An Evaluation of the Employment Incentive Scheme," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number GRS144.
    8. Calmfors, Lars & Lang, Harald, 1995. "Macroeconomic Effects of Active Labour Market Programmes in a Union Wage-Setting Model," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 105(430), pages 601-619, May.
    9. Layard, P R G & Nickell, S J, 1980. "The Case for Subsidising Extra Jobs," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 90(357), pages 51-73, March.
    10. Manning, Alan, 1993. "Wage Bargaining and the Phillips Curve: The Identification and Specification of Aggregate Wage Equations," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 103(416), pages 98-118, January.
    11. Nickell, Stephen J, 1987. "Why Is Wage Inflation in Britain So High?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 49(1), pages 103-128, February.
    12. repec:bla:econom:v:58:y:1991:i:231:p:325-39 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Outi Aarnio, 1993. "Temporary active labour market programmes - potential effects on unemployment," Finnish Economic Papers, Finnish Economic Association, vol. 6(1), pages 13-24, Spring.
    14. Shapiro, Carl & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1984. "Equilibrium Unemployment as a Worker Discipline Device," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(3), pages 433-444, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. João Tovar Jalles, 2017. "Forecasting performance of private sector’s unemployment forecasts in advanced economies," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(6), pages 707-733, November.
    2. Pieter Serneels, 2002. "The added worked effect and intra household aspects of unemployment," CSAE Working Paper Series 2002-14, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    3. J Richardson, 1997. "Wage Subsidies for the Long Term Unemployed: A Search Theoretic Analysis," CEP Discussion Papers dp0347, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    4. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pc:p:3085-3139 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Berthold Norbert, 2000. "Mehr Beschäftigung, weniger Arbeitslosigkeit: Setzt sich das ökonomische Gesetz gegen (verbands-)politische Macht durch?," ORDO. Jahrbuch für die Ordnung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 51(1), pages 231-260, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. J Richardson, 1997. "Can Active Labour Market Policy Work? Some Theoretical Considerations," CEP Discussion Papers dp0331, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    2. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pc:p:3085-3139 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Reinhard Hujer & Uwe Blien & Marco Caliendo & Christopher Zeiss, 2006. "Macroeconometric Evaluation of Active Labour Market Policies in Germany. A Dynamic Panel Approach Using Regional Data," AIEL Series in Labour Economics, in: Floro Ernesto Caroleo & Sergio Destefanis (ed.), The European Labour Market. Regional Dimensions, edition 1, chapter 14, pages 287-309, AIEL - Associazione Italiana Economisti del Lavoro.
    4. Richardson, J., 1997. "Wage subsidies for the long term unemployed: a search theoretic analysis," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 20337, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Calmfors, Lars & Forslund, Anders & Hemström, Maria, 2002. "Does active labour market policy work? Lessons from the Swedish experiences," Working Paper Series 2002:4, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    6. Castle, Jennifer L. & Hendry, David F., 2009. "The long-run determinants of UK wages, 1860-2004," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 5-28, March.
    7. Nymoen, Ragnar & Rodseth, Asbjorn, 2003. "Explaining unemployment: some lessons from Nordic wage formation," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 1-29, February.
    8. James M. Malcomson & Sophocles Mavroeidis, 2007. "Matching Frictions, Efficiency Wages, and Unemployment in the USA and the UK," Working Papers 2007-02, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    9. Kornelius Kraft, 1998. "An evaluation of active and passive labour market policy," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(6), pages 783-793.
    10. Vincenzo SPIEZIA, 2002. "The greying population: A wasted human capital or just a social liability?," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 141(1-2), pages 71-113, March.
    11. Andreas Knabe & Ronnie Schöb, 2013. "Subsidizing extra jobs: promoting employment by taming the unions," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 65(4), pages 807-831, October.
    12. Bardsen, Gunnar & Eitrheim, Oyvind & Jansen, Eilev S. & Nymoen, Ragnar, 2005. "The Econometrics of Macroeconomic Modelling," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199246502.
    13. Blanchflower, David G & Oswald, Andrew J, 1994. "Estimating a Wage Curve for Britain: 1973-90," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 104(426), pages 1025-1043, September.
    14. Hujer, Reinhard & Zeiss, Christopher, 2003. "Macroeconomic Impacts of ALMP on the Matching Process in West Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 915, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Miller, J.G., 1995. "The effects of labour market policies when there is a loss of skill during unemployment," Discussion Paper 1995-120, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    16. Nick Zubanov & W.S. Siebert, 2009. "Management economics in a large UK retailer," CPB Discussion Paper 125.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    17. Forslund, Anders & Gottfries, Nils & Westermark, Andreas, 2005. "Real and nominal wage adjustment in open economies," Working Paper Series 2005:23, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    18. Leon Bettendorf & Joeri Gorter & Albert van der Horst, 2006. "Who benefits from tax competition in the European Union?," CPB Document 125.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    19. Nitika Bagaria & Dawn Holland & John Van Reenen, 2012. "Fiscal Consolidation During a Depression," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 221(1), pages 42-54, July.
    20. Bill Collier, 2000. "The UK Wage Curve: New Evidence from the British Household Panel Survey," Studies in Economics 0010, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    21. Antonio Rodriguez-Gil, 2018. "Hysteresis and labour market institutions. Evidence from the UK and the Netherlands," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 55(4), pages 1985-2025, December.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:20354. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: LSERO Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.