Work

Do caseworker meetings prevent unemployment? Evidence from a field experiment

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Caseworker meetings have been shown to accelerate exit from unemployment. We explore whether they are also effectual before entering unemployment. In a natural field experiment, we offer caseworker meetings to workers at risk of losing their jobs while they are still employed. We find that the offer induces additional meetings and substantially shifts the first meeting forward but has no effect on entry into unemployment or on labour market outcomes within one year. The intervention does not alter jobseekers' search behaviour, which likely explains its inefficacy.

Source: European Economic Review

DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2025.105215

Authors: Pia Homrighausen, Michael Oberfichtner

Institutions: Institut für Arbeitsmarkt und Berufsforschung, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, IZA - Institute of Labor Economics

Language: English

Topic: Employment and Welfare Studies

Subfield: General Health Professions

Field: Health Professions

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, No poverty

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,690