TY - JOUR

T1 - Short-term training programs for immigrants in the German welfare system

T2 - do effects differ from natives and why?

AU - Thomsen, Stephan L.

AU - Walter, Thomas

AU - Aldashev, Alisher

N1 - Funding information: Financial support during the programs is provided by the Federal Employment Agency (FEA) and covers course costs, examination fees, and travel grants as well as child care. In addition, participants receive welfare payments. All short-term training programs are intended to qualify welfare recipients for employment. There is no intention of a threat effect, i.e. the assigned participants quit welfare in order to avoid participation. Assignment to programs depends on the decision of the caseworker, who interviews and advises the welfare recipient about requirements for and obstacles to employment. If this assessment reveals the need for participation in a short-term training program, the caseworker decides about the type offered, i.e. whether the welfare recipient should be trained in a single or a combined program. In case of the latter, the number and the sequence of modules is defined ex ante. (Therefore, they can be assumed to constitute a distinct type of program). We thank Amelie Constant, Corrado Giulietti, and an anonymous referee for helpful comments. Financial support from the project Effects of Book II of the German Social Code on Persons with Migration Background commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) is gratefully acknowledged. Stephan Thomsen thanks the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft (Claussen-Simon-Stiftung) for financial support. The paper has benefited from discussions at the ZEW Workshop on Evaluation of Policies Fighting Social Exclusion in Mannheim, 2010, the Conference on Migration and Migration Policy at University of Maastricht, 2010, the Conference of the Canadian Economics Association in Quebec City, 2010, the Conference of the European Society for Population Economics in Essen, 2010, the Conference of the Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics in Fribourg, 2010, the Trinity Immigration Initiative International Conference at Trinity College Dublin, 2010, the Econometric Society World Congress in Shanghai, 2010, the Conference of the European Economic Association in Glasgow, 2010, and the Conference of the German Economic Association in Kiel, 2010. We wish to thank Moritz Hennig and Ann-Kathrin Kößler for helpful research assistance.

PY - 2013/12/16

Y1 - 2013/12/16

N2 - We evaluate the individual employment effects of four types of short-term training for immigrants and natives in the German welfare system and identify differences in the effects determined by unobservable factors. Based on comprehensive and unique administrative data, we apply propensity score matching in a dynamic setting to estimate the treatment effects and suggest the identification of unexplained effect differences between groups. The results show a mixed picture: two types of training increase the employment chances of immigrants, whereas the other two are rather ineffective. Effect differences between immigrants and natives predominantly result from socio-demographic composition. JEL codes: I38, C14, J61

AB - We evaluate the individual employment effects of four types of short-term training for immigrants and natives in the German welfare system and identify differences in the effects determined by unobservable factors. Based on comprehensive and unique administrative data, we apply propensity score matching in a dynamic setting to estimate the treatment effects and suggest the identification of unexplained effect differences between groups. The results show a mixed picture: two types of training increase the employment chances of immigrants, whereas the other two are rather ineffective. Effect differences between immigrants and natives predominantly result from socio-demographic composition. JEL codes: I38, C14, J61

KW - Evaluation

KW - Immigrant fixed effect

KW - Immigrants

KW - Short-term training

KW - Welfare

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84983334405&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1186/2193-9039-2-24

DO - 10.1186/2193-9039-2-24

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84983334405

VL - 2

JO - IZA Journal of Migration

JF - IZA Journal of Migration

IS - 1

M1 - 24

ER -