Contracting Out Mandatory Counselling and Training for Long-Term Unemployed: Private For-Profit or Non-Profit, or Keep It Public?

Bart Cockx and Stijn Baert

No 9459, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This study evaluates the effectiveness of contracting out mandatory publicly provided counselling and training for long-term unemployed in Flanders (Belgium) to private for-profit and non-profit organisations (FPOs and NPOs). A multivariate transition model exploits timing-of-events and novel exclusion restrictions to account for selection on unobservables. Overall, the intervention was highly effective in reducing unemployment duration, but also spurred employment instability and withdrawals from the labour force. FPOs slightly, but significantly enhanced exits to employment without reinforcing recidivism relative to the public provider but not significantly relative to NPOs. FPOs also charged lower prices and hence were the best performing providers.

Keywords: contracting out of employment services; non-profit versus profit; private provision of public services; timing-of-events; long-term unemployment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C21 C41 C53 H44 J64 J65 J68 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 53 pages
Date: 2015-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Contracting Out Mandatory Counselling and Training for Long-Term Unemployed. Private For-Profit or Non-Profit, or Keep it Public? (2015)
Working Paper: Contracting Out Mandatory Counselling and Training for Long-Term Unemployed. Private For-Profit or Non-Profit, or Keep it Public? (2015)
Working Paper: CONTRACTING OUT MANDATORY COUNSELLING AND TRAINING FOR LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYED. PRIVATE FOR-PROFIT OR NON-PROFIT, OR KEEP IT PUBLIC? (2015)
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