The Role of Caseworkers in Unemployment Insurance: Evidence from Unplanned Absences

Schiprowski, Amelie

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3576283

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The Role of Caseworkers in Unemployment Insurance: Evidence from Unplanned Absences

CESifo Working Paper No. 8206

39 Pages Posted: 15 Apr 2020

See all articles by Amelie Schiprowski

Amelie Schiprowski

IZA; University of Bonn

There are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: 2020

Abstract

Caseworkers are the main human resources used to provide social services. This paper asks if, and how much, caseworkers matter for the outcomes of unemployed individuals. Using large-scale administrative data, I exploit exogenous variation in unplanned absences among Swiss UI caseworkers. I find that individuals who lose a meeting with their caseworker stay unemployed 5% longer. Results show large heterogeneity in the personal impact of caseworkers: the effect of a foregone meeting is zero for caseworkers in the lower half of the productivity distribution, while it amounts to more than twice the average effect for caseworkers in the upper half.

Keywords: unemployment insurance, caseworkers, job search

JEL Classification: J640, J650, J680

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Schiprowski, Amelie, The Role of Caseworkers in Unemployment Insurance: Evidence from Unplanned Absences (2020). CESifo Working Paper No. 8206, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3576283 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3576283