Impact of Social Assistance on Labor Market Mobility : The Case of Turkey

Alcan, Deniz ; Can, Raif ; Taskin, Temel ; Wiseman, William

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: social assistance;    labor market;    labor mobility;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-7801
RP-ID  :  WPS7801

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper assesses the extent to whichsocial assistance programs in Turkey impact the labor marketbehavior of those who receive benefits. Theoretically, thepossible channels through which the receipt of socialassistance may disincentivize work are quite clear, even ifthe substantial literature analyzing these dynamics issomewhat inconclusive. The analysis confirms that even whencontrolling for the relevant factors, social assistancebeneficiaries are significantly more likely thannon-beneficiaries to be unemployed or informally employed,and therefore less likely to be formally employed.Furthermore, among the unemployed, the probability of movinginto informal employment is found to be significantly largerfor beneficiaries than for non-beneficiaries. The paperconcludes that there are potential disincentive effects atplay in the decision to work, but particularly in whether towork formally or informally. Finally, an interesting andperhaps counterintuitive finding is that beneficiaries whoare inactive are less likely to stay inactive in comparisonwith non-beneficiaries, which suggests that socialassistance may be playing an activation role rather thanleading to increased dependency. This, coupled with theprevious findings, would indicate that disincentives towork, based on current design parameters, may not be theprimary concern. Rather, disincentives to formality may bethe prevailing channel through which social assistanceaffects labor market outcomes. More attention to designingprograms that are incentive-compatible with formalemployment would be a useful next step for public policy inthis area.