Abstract
This study estimates the labor market effects of a work-first policy aimed at speeding up the labor market integration of refugees. The policy added new requirements for refugees to actively search for jobs and to participate in on-the-job training immediately upon arrival in the host country, Denmark. The requirements were added to an existing policy that emphasizes human capital investments in language training. The results show that the work-first policy speeded up entry into regular jobs for men, but they find work in precarious jobs with few hours. Long-run effects are uncertain since the policy crowds out language investments but raises enrollment in education. The policy had no or very small effects for women, which is partly explained by a lower treatment intensity for women.
Highlights
The large inflow of refugee immigrants that occurred in Europe in 2015 and 2016 emphasized the political and economic challenges that most Western countries face from humanitarian immigration (Zimmerman 2017).1 One significant economicJ
A causal interpretation of the results is supported by findings that show that the results are robust across different specifications, pass two placebo tests, and that the policy works as intended: It sharply raised the share of refugees subjected to job search and who participated in on-the-job training in the first six months following their arrival in Denmark
The results suggest that the negative impact of language training found for refugees in the short run may be caused by a lock-in effect, and that language investments are crucial in the longer run
Summary
The large inflow of refugee immigrants that occurred in Europe in 2015 and 2016 emphasized the political and economic challenges that most Western countries face from humanitarian immigration (Zimmerman 2017). One significant economic. A causal interpretation of the results is supported by findings that show that the results are robust across different specifications, pass two placebo tests, and that the policy works as intended: It sharply raised the share of refugees subjected to job search and who participated in on-the-job training in the first six months following their arrival in Denmark. This increase is smaller for women, and lower treatment intensity can explain part of the smaller results for women. Because the work-first policy has ambiguous effects on human capital, it is important to consider the long-run effects of similar policies in future research
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