Welfare Reform and Migrant’s Long-term Labor Market Integration

Johannes Kunz () and Anna Zhu ()
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Johannes Kunz: Monash University
Anna Zhu: RMIT

No 2023-05, Working Papers from Centre for Health Economics, Monash University

Abstract: We study the effect of reducing welfare assistance on migrants’ long-term integration in Australia. The policy postponed a migrant’s eligibility for benefits during their first two years in the country. It mainly affected mothers and was announced after their arrival. Using a regression discontinuity design and 21 years of administrative welfare data, we find significant reductions in welfare receipt, where the gap widened over time, and stabilized in the long run. Benefit receipt amounts reduced by 28%, and time-on-benefits by 19%, particularly in the unemployment and disability categories. We observe larger treatment effects for mothers from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Keywords: Welfare reform; labor market outcomes; migration; job quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E64 I30 J60 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab, nep-mig and nep-pbe
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