Microeconometric Evaluation of Labour Market Policies, 2006 Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems Series, Vol. 568

The evaluation of labour market and other public policies has become increasingly important in recent years. In an era of tight government budgets, a thorough analysis of these measures is imperative. This book provides a comprehensive overview and assessment of the most relevant microeconometric evaluation methods. It focuses on the popular propensity score matching method and gives extensive guidance for its implementation. In the second part of the book, this method is used to evaluate the employment effects of job creation schemes on the participating individuals in Germany. Based on a large administrative dataset of over 11,000 participants, the study allows to draw policy-relevant conclusions for the first time.

Microeconometric Evaluation Methods.- in Programme Evaluation.- The Evaluation of Policy Interventions with Matching Estimators.- Some Practical Guidance for the Implementation of Propensity Score Matching Estimators.- The Evaluation of Job Creation Schemes in Germany.- The German Labour Market and Active Labour Market Policies - A Brief Overview.- Microeconometric Evaluation of Job Creation Schemes - Part I: Individual and Regional Heterogeneity.- Microeconometric Evaluation of Job Creation Schemes - Part II: Programme Heterogeneity.- Conclusions and Outlook.