Allégements de charges sociales : une mesure à promouvoir mais à réformer

Abstract

This paper compares the effects of three policies that aim at fighting the low-skill unemployment problem in Belgium: reductions in employers’ social security contributions, hiring subsidies and in-work benefits. From evaluation studies and our analysis of the causes of unemployment in Belgium, we recommend the use of reductions in employers’ social security contributions and argue that they should be more targeted on low-paid jobs than they currently are. We propose a crude evaluation of the impact of such a reform and put this proposal in the broader context of labour market policy reforms in Belgium.