DP2361 Modelling Financial Incentives To Get Unemployed Back To Work

Author(s):	Jan Boone, Jan C. van Ours
Publication Date:	January 2000
Keyword(s):	Financial Incentives, Sanctions, Unemployment Benefits
JEL(s):	H55, J65, J68
Programme Areas:	Labour Economics
Link to this Page:	cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=2361

We model how unemployment benefit sanctions - benefit reductions that are imposed if unemployed do not comply with job search guidelines - affect unemployment. In our analysis we find that not only micro-effects concerning the behaviour of individual unemployed workers are relevant, but also macro-spillover effects from the additional creation of vacancies, which originates from the increased effectiveness of labour supply. We advocate that for a given loss in welfare for the unemployed benefit sanctions are more effective in reducing unemployment than an across the board reduction in the replacement rate.