Encouraging the unemployed into sustained work: experimental evidence from the UK and the US

The research found the following.

In the UK, ERA achieved small but significant employment increases for the long-term unemployed.  The findings suggest this was driven initially by increased employment entry but increasingly by a growing retention effect.  Findings are available here, with a summary here.

In Texas, Corpus Christi saw initial impacts from both employment retention and entry but only the entry effects persisted.  In Fort Worth, there was some improvement in retention might during the period of ERA eligibility but not beyond that point.  Findings are available here.

Comparing Texas and the UK, show differences in unobserved characteristics to be important.  There were greater impacts for those who find it harder to enter work, and smaller impacts for those who find it relatively easy to stay in work.  Differences in the prevalence of these groups are the primary reason behind the impacts in Texas being larger than those in the UK.

Output

Dorsett, R. (2013) Can temporary in-work support help the long-term unemployed enter sustained work?, VOXEU blog

Dorsett, R., Hendra, R., Robins, P. And Williams, S. (2015) Can Post-Employment Services Combined with Financial Incentives Improve Employment Retention for Welfare Recipients? Evidence from the Texas Employment Retention and Advancement Evaluation

Dorsett, R. (2014) The effect of temporary in-work support on employment retention: evidence from a field experiment Labour Economics 31: 61-71

Dorsett, R. (2013) Can temporary in-work support help the long-term unemployed enter sustained work?