Active labor market as an instrument to reduce unemployment

Abstract

In order to have an impact on the labor market, welfare states must implement active labor market policies (ALMPs). The effectiveness of ALMPs has only been the subject of a few numbers of studies, the majority of which only take into account the short-term effects of ALMPs and use aggregate data. We examine the impact of public spending on female and male unemployment rates by disaggregating data on unemployment for nine OECD countries and focusing on long-term effects of ALMPs, primarily to determine whether there is evidence of causation between the variables. Based on the bootstrap panel Granger causality test, the estimates account for cross-sectional dependence, slope heterogeneity, and structural breaks. Although the causality direction varies by country, our study demonstrates that ALMPs are helpful at lowering unemployment. It's interesting to notice that these policies appear to have the most positive effects for women. Policymakers must provide appropriate support for ALMPs in order to effectively lower unemployment.