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on Microeconomic European Issues |
| By: | Felix Degenhardt (University of Potsdam); Jan Sebastian Nimczik (ESMT Berlin) |
| Abstract: | We examine whether gig jobs in online food delivery (OFD) are a stepping stone for refugees entering the Austrian labor market. Our identification strategy combines the quasi-random assignment of refugees to Austrian regions with the expansion of gig firms across the country. The local availability of OFD jobs at the time of access to the labor market initially accelerates job finding among refugees. Subsequently, however, gig workers remain in low-paid, unstable jobs with low career prospects, while the employment rate of refugees without gig opportunities catches up. The local availability of gig jobs negatively affects human capital investments and job search behavior, even among refugees outside the gig economy. |
| Keywords: | gig work, refugees, employment restrictions, labor market integration |
| JEL: | J15 J61 J81 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:2517 |
| By: | Di Cataldo, Marco; Renzullo, Elena |
| Abstract: | The EU Cohesion Policy, with its capacity to shape the socio-economic development of European regions and cities, also holds the potential to influence the political preferences of citizens. While existing research has explored the effects of EU funding on national electoral outcomes, its impact on local elections remains underexamined, overlooking the inherently territorial nature of Cohesion Policy and the crucial role local policy-makers play in its activation and implementation. This study leverages detailed administrative data on European development projects to examine how EU funds affect political support for incumbent local politicians in Italy. It analyses the relationship between the inflow of European funds and the electoral support for Italian mayors, considering different project types that reflect the mayors’ ability to attract European funds. The findings demonstrate that Cohesion Policy significantly shapes local voting behaviour. Larger, more visible projects significantly increase the likelihood of mayoral re-election. Moreover, municipalities experiencing faster economic growth, where EU projects contribute to public service improvements, witness the strongest electoral gains for incumbents. These results highlight the critical importance of project design, visibility, and effectiveness in determining the political consequences of EU redistributive policies. |
| Keywords: | EU cohesion policy; incumbent re-election; political preferences; redistribution; local voting behaviour |
| JEL: | D72 I38 H70 R58 |
| Date: | 2025–06–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:128651 |
| By: | Silvia De Poli |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses how extending paternity leave duration in Spain affects labour market outcomes and relationship stability. By combining administrative data from different sources, this study provides both descriptive and causal evidence of the effectiveness of the reform. First, we show that having a child substantially increases the gender employment gap between fathers and mothers by about 20 percentage points. Yet, between 2016 and 2021, when the duration of paternity leave gradually increased from two to sixteen weeks, this gap decreased by five percentage points. Second, using a regression discontinuity design, we analyse the causal effect of the 2018 reform, which introduced an additional week of leave for fathers that, for the first time, could be taken independently of the mother’s leave. Although we do not find robust evidence of an effect on the labour market, we show that the reform increased the stability of the relationship among couples where the mother was employed before childbirth. From a policy perspective, our findings suggest that extending paternity leave could have important implications in balancing family responsibilities and mitigating relationship conflicts. |
| Keywords: | paternity leave, employment, relation stability, regression discontinuity design |
| JEL: | C31 J12 J31 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fbk:wpaper:2025-03 |
| By: | Landini, Fabio; Lunardon, Davide; Rinaldi, Riccardo; Tredicine, Luigi |
| Abstract: | The need to achieve a safe and just ecological transition is a key target of European policy makers. Green jobs are often presented as key levers to achieve this objective, as they enable the creation of new employment opportunities across a wide spectrum of occupations, including low skill ones. In this paper we investigate if and how these opportunities are seized by one of the most vulnerable segment of the labor force, namely migrants. By relying on detailed administrative data covering more that 12 million contract activations in the Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy) we document that, after controlling for potential confounders, migrants are less likely than natives to find employment in green jobs. Moreover, when they do, they have higher chances to be hired with either a fixed-term or an agency contract. Heterogeneity analysis across industries and occupations reveals that such precarious employment patterns are driven primarily by firm attempts to reduce green costs. These results are rationalized through the lenses of institutional segmentation theory. Related policy implications are discussed. |
| Keywords: | Green Jobs, Migrant Workers, Precarious Employment, Institutional Segmentation |
| JEL: | Q52 J24 J15 J41 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1636 |
| By: | Maximilian Langer; Joshua Hassib; Lars P. Feld; Daniel Nientiedt |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the effectiveness and public finance implications of the German debt brake, a constitutional balanced budget rule introduced in 2009 that aims to ensure a sustainable path of public indebtedness. In order to estimate its causal effects, our paper employs a synthetic control strategy: We compare the counterfactual developments of six relevant outcome variables in a synthetic Germany without this rule to their actual developments. Overall, our empirical analysis suggests that the debt brake bears the main responsibility for the consolidation of German public finances during the 2010s. By reducing the deficit, the debt brake in all likelihood also reduced financing costs, though this effect cannot be solely attributed to it. Furthermore, our analysis finds that the debt brake did not negatively and robustly impact public investment, at least on the federal level. The results are supported by a variety of significance and robustness tests. |
| Keywords: | fiscal rules, fiscal federalism, german debt brake, policy evaluation, synthetic control method |
| JEL: | C13 C53 D78 H60 H63 H77 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11933 |
| By: | Giacomo De Luca; Andrea Montalbano; Steven Stillman |
| Abstract: | We study the long-term impact of compulsory military service, a powerful nation building tool, on attitudes toward immigrants. Using a regression discontinuity design, we compare cohorts of men required to serve with those exempted due to suspension of compulsory service in 21 European countries. We find that conscripts exhibit more negative attitudes towards immigrants, whereas this is not true for women in the same birth cohorts. The impact is more pronounced in countries with high levels of immigration, and when the military service was done during a left-wing government, and hence provided a stronger change in narrative during a crucial formative period. |
| Keywords: | nation building, conscription, identity, immigration, discrimination |
| JEL: | I28 Z13 F22 D71 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11990 |
| By: | Disch, Wendy; Hauser, Lea; McQuinn, Kieran |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp801 |
| By: | Engels, Barbara; Scheufen, Marc; Schmitz, Edgar |
| Abstract: | Deutschland muss seine wirtschaftliche Leistungsfähigkeit in einem schwierigen Umfeld sichern. Der Mangel an Fachkräften, die stagnierende Produktivität und eine schwächelnde Innovationstätigkeit bedrohen Wachstum und Wohlstand. Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) kann ein Schlüssel zur Bewältigung dieser Herausforderungen sein. Dafür muss sie allerdings von vielen Unternehmen umfassend eingesetzt werden. Diese Studie untersucht den aktuellen Stand der KI-Nutzung in deutschen Unternehmen basierend auf einer Befragung von 1.038 Unternehmen im Rahmen des IW-Zukunftspanels. Derzeit setzen 37 Prozent der befragten Unternehmen KI ein. Große Unternehmen nutzen mit 66 Prozent wesentlich häufiger KI als kleine Unternehmen (36 Prozent). Hinsichtlich der Branchen sind unternehmensnahe Dienstleister mit 55 Prozent besonders häufig KI-Nutzer, gefolgt vom Maschinenbau, der Elektroindustrie und dem Fahrzeugbau mit knapp 40 Prozent. Im Gegensatz dazu setzen Unternehmen aus Branchen wie Bauwirtschaft, Großhandel und Logistik KI deutlich seltener ein (unter 25 Prozent). Die befragten Unternehmen nutzen KI hauptsächlich zur Automatisierung von Routinearbeiten, Unterstützung bei komplexen Aufgaben und zur Qualitätsverbesserung. Vor allem generative KI ist beliebt. Allerdings erfolgt der KI-Einsatz meist nur punktuell in einzelnen Unternehmensbereichen und selten unternehmensweit. Dass die befragten Unternehmen vor allem kostenfreie KI-Tools einsetzen und deutlich seltener KITools einkaufen oder selbst entwickeln, deutet ebenfalls darauf hin, dass die KI-Nutzung in der deutschen Wirtschaft insgesamt bislang eher oberflächlich ist. Die Studie empfiehlt konkrete Maßnahmen, um KI flächendeckend zu implementieren und die wirtschaftlichen Chancen zu nutzen: Bildungsoffensiven, gezielte finanzielle Förderung, intelligente Regulierungsumsetzung und eine verbesserte digitale Infrastruktur sind zentrale Hebel. Zudem sollte Deutschland sein Geschäftsmodell der industriellen Wertschöpfung mit den Potenzialen der KI verzahnen und dabei eigene, europäisch geprägte KI-Lösungen entwickeln. Gelingt es Deutschland, KI "Made in Germany" zum Qualitätssiegel für Innovation und Zuverlässigkeit zu machen, könnte KI tatsächlich zu einer tragenden Säule nachhaltigen Wachstums und Wohlstands werden. |
| Abstract: | Germany has to secure its economic performance in a difficult environment. The shortage of skilled labour, stagnating productivity and weakening innovation are threatening growth and prosperity. Artificial intelligence (AI) can be a key to overcoming these challenges. However, it needs to be used extensively by many companies. This study analyses the current status of AI use in German companies based on a survey of 1, 038 companies as part of the IW Future Panel. Currently, 37 per cent of the companies surveyed use AI. At 66 per cent, large companies use AI much more frequently than small companies (36 per cent). In terms of sectors, business-related service providers are particularly frequent users of AI at 55 per cent, followed by mechanical engineering, the electrical industry and vehicle construction at just under 40 per cent. In contrast, companies from sectors such as construction, wholesale and logistics use AI much less frequently (less than 25 per cent). The companies surveyed mainly use AI to automate routine work, support complex tasks and improve quality. Generative AI is particularly popular. However, AI is usually only used selectively in individual areas of the company and rarely company-wide. The fact that surveyed companies predominantly use free-of-charge AI tools, and less frequently purchase or develop their own tools, also indicates that the overall adoption of AI in the German economy is rather superficial so far. The study provides specific recommendations for achieving broader AI implementation and leveraging its economic opportunities: targeted educational initiatives, focused financial incentives, intelligent regulatory frameworks, and improved digital infrastructure are key levers. Moreover, Germany should integrate its industrial value-creation model with the potential of AI, developing distinctly European AI solutions. If Germany succeeds in establishing AI "Made in Germany" as a hallmark for innovation and reliability, artificial intelligence could indeed become a cornerstone of sustainable economic growth and prosperity. |
| Keywords: | Künstliche Intelligenz, Unternehmen, Komparativer Vorteil, Internationaler Wettbewerb, Deutschland |
| JEL: | O33 M15 O38 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwkrep:321854 |
| By: | Siedschlag, Iulia; Vanegas, Juan Duran |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp802 |
| By: | Maximilian Bernecker; Smaranda Sgarciu; Xiaoming Kan; Mehrnaz Anvari; Iegor Riepin; Felix M\"usgens |
| Abstract: | This study develops a capacity expansion model for a fully decarbonized European electricity system using an Adaptive Robust Optimization (ARO) framework. The model endogenously identifies the worst regional Dunkelflaute events, prolonged periods of low wind and solar availability, and incorporates multiple extreme weather realizations within a single optimization run. Results show that system costs rise nonlinearly with the geographic extent of these events: a single worst-case regional disruption increases costs by 9%, but broader disruptions across multiple regions lead to much sharper increases, up to 51%. As Dunkelflaute conditions extend across most of Europe, additional cost impacts level off, with a maximum increase of 71%. The optimal technology mix evolves with the severity of weather stress: while renewables, batteries, and interregional transmission are sufficient to manage localized events, large-scale disruptions require long-term hydrogen storage and load shedding to maintain system resilience. Central European regions, especially Germany and France, emerge as systemic bottlenecks, while peripheral regions bear the cost of compensatory overbuilding. These findings underscore the need for a coordinated European policy strategy that goes beyond national planning to support cross-border infrastructure investment, scale up flexible technologies such as long-duration storage, and promote a geographically balanced deployment of renewables to mitigate systemic risks associated with Dunkelflaute events. |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2507.11361 |
| By: | Gallo, Giovanni; Ubaldi, Michele |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effect of partner unemployment on individual physical health. Using data from two nationally representative Italian surveys of households and employing partial identification to address endogenous selection into unemployment, we show that the impact of partner unemployment on individual physical health is related to the role of the unemployed within the household. We document a null effect when the spouse is unemployed, whereas we find a negative health effect when the household head is unemployed. The negative effect of household head unemployment may be explained by a larger budget constraint and a consequent change in the dietary habits involving all household members. In particular, we highlight a decline in the quality of food consumption in the household when the household head is unemployed. |
| Keywords: | Unemployment, dietary habits, consumption, food quality, body mass index |
| JEL: | D12 I10 J12 J60 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1638 |
| By: | Francesco Cinnirella; Elona Harka |
| Abstract: | Empirical evidence on the historical role of Compulsory Schooling Laws (CSL) for the spread of mass education is mixed at best. This is also due to the difficulty of identifying exogenous variation in the application of CSL. We exploit an almost unique feature of a CSL in 1877 Italy which was gradually implemented across municipalities based on the teacher to population ratio. This criterion generates a sharp discontinuity which can be exploited to estimate the causal effect of the early implementation of CSL on economic outcomes. Estimates based on a regression discontinuity design show that CSL had a positive long-term effect on innovation and industrial employment. Consistent with the main objective of the reform, CSL had a positive effect on human capital by increasing enrollment rates in technical schools and, more in general, the literacy rate. The results are robust to a series of placebo, falsification and manipulation tests. This study provides important policy implications in favor of the early implementation of CSL to increase the average level of education which, in turns, brings about positive effects on innovation and industrialization. |
| Keywords: | education, industrialization, literacy, patents, liberal Italy |
| JEL: | N33 O14 O43 I25 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12043 |
| By: | António Afonso; José Alves; Najat Bazah; A. J. Sánchez-Fuentes |
| Abstract: | We evaluate the efficiency of public expenditure in the 27 European countries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. Using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), we map performance over the period 1995-2023, incorporating Musgravian functional spending – redistribution, allocation, public services, and private activities – as input variables, and constructing synthetic indices for the five pillars of the 2030 Agenda –people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership – as outputs. Results indicate that input efficiency scores range from 0.77 to 0.95, while output scores range from 0.88 to 0.93, suggesting a potential 5%-23.5% increase in inputs or a 7%-11.7% improvement in outputs. Denmark, Ireland, and Finland are efficient throughout the entire period, with strategic reductions in public spending correlating with high SDG performance. Sweden also has high efficiency and leads in multiple pillars by 2023. Conversely, the peace pillar remains the least achieved, while the people pillar shows the greatest progress. |
| Keywords: | public spending, sustainable development goals (SDGs), data envelopment analysis (DEA), government spending efficiency |
| JEL: | C61 H11 H72 O57 Q56 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12036 |
| By: | Till Köveker; Robin Sogalla |
| Abstract: | Carbon pricing policies are usually combined with compensation for exposed firms to prevent adverse competitiveness effects. In cap-and-trade systems, this carbon cost compensation mostly occurs through free allocation of emission permits. Using an administrative panel of German manufacturing firms, this paper investigates how free allocation in the European Union Emissions Trading System affects firms’ competitiveness and their incentives to reduce emissions. Leveraging a reform of free allocation rules in a continuous difference-in-differences design, we find that that a reduction of freely allocated emission permits decreased firms’ emission intensity. Our results suggest that this decrease is driven by energy efficiency improvements instead of outsourcing of emission intensive production. On the other hand, we do not find statistically significant effects on firms’ employment, sales, value added, investments and exports – indicating that the reduction in free permits did not reduce firms’ competitiveness. |
| Keywords: | Cap and trade, permit allocation, industry compensation, greenhouse gas emissions, competitiveness, manufacturing firms |
| JEL: | Q54 Q58 H23 D22 F18 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp2133 |
| By: | Diermeier, Matthias; Engler, Jan; Fremerey, Melinda; Wansleben, Leon |
| Abstract: | Angesichts des hohen Niveaus sozioökonomischer Segregation in vielen deutschen Städten stellt sich die Frage nach der Verteilung sozialer Infrastruktur über soziodemografisch unterschiedlich geprägte Stadtteile. Unsere Analyse ist die erste, die georeferenzierte Daten zu Kindertagesstätten mit soziodemografischen Informationen aus 52 deutschen Städten und 2.613 Stadtteilen kombiniert. Im Kern der Untersuchung steht der Zusammenhang zwischen dem Angebot an Kindertagesstätten und dem Anteil der Sozialhilfeempfänger in den jeweiligen Quartieren. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Stadtteile mit größeren sozioökonomischen Herausforderungen schlechter mit Kindertagesstätten versorgt sind. Dies liegt vor allem an der kostenintensiven Ausweitung von öffentlich bezuschussten Kitaangeboten gemeinnütziger Träger in sozioökonomisch bessergestellten Stadtteilen. Die Ungleichheit in der Kitaversorgung wäre in westdeutschen Städten noch ausgeprägter, wenn öffentliche Kitas nicht überproportional häufig in sozioökonomisch benachteiligten Stadtteilen angesiedelt wären. Diese ungleichen nahräumlichen Versorgungslagen tragen möglicherweise zu der sozial stark stratifizierten Inanspruchnahme von Kinderbetreuung in Deutschland bei - trotz umfangreicher öffentlicher Finanzierung. |
| Abstract: | The high level of socioeconomic segregation in many German cities gives rise to the question of how social infrastructure should be distributed across areas with different sociodemographic characteristics. Our analysis is the first to combine georeferenced data on daycare facilities for children with sociodemographic information from 52 German cities and 2, 613 districts. At the center of the study is the relationship between the availability of daycare facilities and the proportion of social welfare recipients in the corresponding area. Our findings show that areas with greater socioeconomic challenges are less well provided with daycare facilities for children. This is primarily due to the cost-intensive expansion of publicly subsidized daycare facilities run by non-profit organizations in socioeconomically better-off neighborhoods. The inequality in daycare provision would be even more pronounced in western German cities if municipal daycare facilities were not disproportionately located in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. These unequal local supply situations may contribute to the socially highly stratified use of childcare in Germany - despite extensive public funding. |
| Keywords: | Kindertagesstätten, Kitaversorgung, Nachbarschaftsmerkmale, soziale Infrastruktur, Sozialraum, sozioökonomische Segregation, Tagesbetreuung, Ungleichheit, daycare facilities for children, daycare provision, neighborhood characteristics, social infrastructure, social space, socioeconomic segregation, daycare, inequality |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:mpifgd:323934 |
| By: | Sebastian Roché (PACTE - Pacte, Laboratoire de sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - IEPG - Sciences Po Grenoble-UGA - Institut d'études politiques de Grenoble - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes); Simon Varaine (PACTE - Pacte, Laboratoire de sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - IEPG - Sciences Po Grenoble-UGA - Institut d'études politiques de Grenoble - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes); Paul Le Derff (CED - Centre Émile Durkheim - IEP Bordeaux - Sciences Po Bordeaux - Institut d'études politiques de Bordeaux - UB - Université de Bordeaux - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | Can the behavior of civil servants with a large autonomy, the police, be regulated by law? In the case of the use of deadly force, the subject remains understudied in Europe. A 2017 law in France relaxed restrictions and allowed for the first time the national police to use weapons beyond self-defense. This quasi-experimental study examines the impact that this regulatory change, used as an exogenous shock, has had on the number of deaths of occupants of vehicles. The monthly number of killings has significantly increased for the national police (experimental group), who are directly affected by the new regulation, but not other forces unaffected by the regulation such as the French gendarmerie, a military status force (control group 1), and other police forces of two neighboring states (Germany, Belgium, control group 2 and 3). The findings hold after controlling for the variations in level of violence in society, and police exposure to and death in dangerous traffic violations during the study period. When using more conservative specifications, the observed increase in lethal shootings does not reach statistical significance due to a lack of statistical power related to the rarity of police lethal shootings in the European context. We recommend that national regulations governing the use of weapons by police more clearly and unambiguously embed the notions of proportionality and absolute necessity. |
| Keywords: | use of force, weapons, law and regulation, departmental policy, use of force weapons law and regulation departmental policy |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-05120493 |
| By: | Melentyeva, Valentina; Riedel, Lukas |
| Abstract: | We show that the widespread approach to estimate the career costs of motherhood - so called "child penalties" - is prone to produce biased results, as it pools first-time mothers of all ages without accounting for their differences in characteristics and outcomes. We propose a novel method building on the recent advances in the difference-in-differences literature to address this issue. Applied to German administrative data, our method yields 30 percent larger post-birth earnings losses than the conventional approach. We document meaningful effect heterogeneity by maternal age in both magnitude and interpretation, highlighting its key role in understanding the impact of motherhood. |
| Keywords: | child penalty, maternal labor supply, heterogeneous treatment effects, event study |
| JEL: | J13 J16 J31 C23 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:321862 |
| By: | Nivorozhkin, Anton (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany); Promberger, Markus (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | "This study examines the long-term effects of a standardized skills assessment test - MySkills - on the employment outcomes of jobseekers without formal vocational qualifications in Germany. In a labour market where certified qualifications are the key currency for access to stable jobs, individuals lacking such credentials face persistent structural disadvantages. This includes a large share of refugees, migrants, and native low-skilled workers who may possess substantial work experience but lack documented proof of their competencies. Public Employment Service (PES) caseworkers and employers often struggle to evaluate these jobseekers’ true abilities, leading to mismatches in job referrals and limited access to Active Labour Market Programmes (ALMPs). To address these challenges, the German Federal Employment Agency introduced MySkills - a standardised, computer-based assessment tool designed to make informally acquired skills visible. After a test phase, MySkills was fully active 2019 -2022, when low participation rates and high costs led to dropping the test. Unlike formal qualifications, MySkills does not confer certification but provides structured feedback across 30 occupational fields. The expectation was that this tool can improve the alignment between jobseekers and available training or employment measures, particularly for those outside the traditional education and training systems. Using rich administrative data from the German social security system spanning 2019 to 2022, we compare individuals who took the MySkills test to those who were referred but ultimately did not participate. To address selection bias, we apply inverse probability weighting based on a propensity score model, complemented by robustness checks and sensitivity analyses. Our results show that test participation does not lead to immediate improvements in employment – which confirms expectations from qualitative findings published earlier (Promberger and Kawalec 2024). In fact, a short-term decline in employment compared to the control group is observed, likely due to an increased enrolment in ALMPs. However, this pattern reverses over time. By the fourth year following the test referral, participants are up to six percentage points more likely to be in regular contributory employment than non-participants - equivalent to about 20 additional days of employment per year. The strongest positive effects are observed in vocational training and short-term skill-building programmes. The evidence suggests that the MySkills test enhances not the direct job transitions but the effectiveness of caseworker recommendations by offering objective signals of ability, thus improving programme targeting. However, the tool's limited uptake, long duration, and weak signalling value for employers curtailed its full potential. Qualitative insights indicate that, where applied, its greatest utility lay in aiding caseworkers rather than directly empowering jobseekers. In sum, MySkills functioned less as a standalone intervention and more as an institutional support mechanism within the Public Employment Services. When integrated properly, such tools can help reduce bias, improve matching quality, and promote long-term labour market integration for disadvantaged groups. To enhance impact, future initiatives should prioritise ease of use, broader recognition, and active integration into counselling routines." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | IAB-Open-Access-Publikation |
| Date: | 2025–08–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabfob:202517 |