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Prospective Analysis of a Wage Subsidy for Cape Town Youth

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  • James A. Levinsohn
  • Todd Pugatch

Abstract

Recognizing that a credible estimate of a wage subsidy's impact requires a model of the labor market that itself generates high unemployment in equilibrium, we estimate a structural search model that incorporates both observed heterogeneity and measurement error in wages. Using the model to examine the impact of a wage subsidy, we find that a R1000/month wage subsidy paid to employers leads to an increase of R660 in mean accepted wages and a decrease of 15 percentage points in the share of youth experiencing long-term unemployment.

Suggested Citation

  • James A. Levinsohn & Todd Pugatch, 2011. "Prospective Analysis of a Wage Subsidy for Cape Town Youth," NBER Working Papers 17248, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17248
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    Cited by:

    1. David McKenzie, 2017. "How Effective Are Active Labor Market Policies in Developing Countries? A Critical Review of Recent Evidence," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 32(2), pages 127-154.
    2. Amina Ebrahim & Murray Leibbrandt & Vimal Ranchhod, 2017. "The effects of the Employment Tax Incentive on South African employment," WIDER Working Paper Series 005, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Seán M. Muller, 2021. "Evidence for a YETI? A Cautionary Tale from South Africa's Youth Employment Tax Incentive," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 52(6), pages 1301-1342, November.
    4. Amina Ebrahim & Murray Leibbrandt & Vimal Ranchhod, 2017. "The effects of the Employment Tax Incentive on South African employment," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-5, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Emily A. Beam & Stella Quimbo, 2023. "The Impact of Short-Term Employment for Low-Income Youth: Experimental Evidence from the Philippines," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 105(6), pages 1379-1393, November.
    6. Pugatch, Todd, 2012. "Bumpy Rides: School to Work Transitions in South Africa," IZA Discussion Papers 6305, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Isaac Marcelin & Daniel Brink & David Oluwatosin Fadiran & Hammed Adedeji Amusa, 2019. "Subsidized labour and firms: Investment, profitability, and leverage," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2019-50, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    8. Erten, Bilge & Leight, Jessica & Tregenna, Fiona, 2019. "Trade liberalization and local labor market adjustment in South Africa," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 448-467.
    9. Armand, Alex & Carneiro, Pedro & Tagliati, Federico & Xia, Yiming, 2020. "Can Subsidized Employment Tackle Long-Term Unemployment? Experimental Evidence from North Macedonia," IZA Discussion Papers 13478, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Bojosi Morule & Konstantin Makrelov, 2019. "The effectiveness of the Employment Tax Incentive August 2019," Occasional Bulletin of Economic Notes 9481, South African Reserve Bank.
    11. Orbeta, Aniceto Jr. C. & Paqueo, Vicente B., 2017. "Countering the Discriminatory Impact of Minimum Wages Against Disadvantaged Workers: Literature Review and Experimental Design Development," Discussion Papers DP 2017-55, Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
    12. Sequeira, Sandra & Banerjee, Abhijit, 2020. "Spatial Mismatches and Imperfect Information in the Job Search," CEPR Discussion Papers 14414, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Public Policy

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