Template-type: ReDif-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Desiere, Sam
Author-Name: Cockx, Bart
Title: How effective are hiring subsidies to reduce long-term unemployment among prime-aged jobseekers? Evidence from Belgium
Abstract: Hiring subsidies are widely used to create (stable) employment for the long-term unemployed. This paper exploits the abolition of a hiring subsidy targeted at long-term unemployed jobseekers over 45 years of age in Belgium to evaluate its effectiveness in the short and medium run. Based on a triple difference methodology the hiring subsidy<br/>is shown to increase the job finding rate by 13% without any evidence of spill-over effects. This effect is driven by a positive effect on individuals with at least a bachelor’s<br/>degree. However, the hiring subsidy mainly created temporary short-lived employment: eligible jobseekers were not more likely to find employment that lasted at least twelve<br/>consecutive months than ineligible jobseekers. 
Classification-JEL: h22,j08,j18,j23,j38,j64,j65,j68
Series: ROA Research Memoranda
Creation-Date: 20211004
Number: 005
File-URL: https://cris.maastrichtuniversity.nl/ws/files/73182218/ROA_RM_2021_5.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 1068879
Handle: Repec:unm:umaror:2021005
DOI: 10.26481/umaror.2021005