abstract: 'EVALUATION OF ACTIVE LABOUR MARKET POLICIES IN 2009 AND 2010 IN THE

  REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

  Teo Matkovic, Zdenko Babic, Annamaria Vuga

  This report brings forth an evaluation of Active labour market policy

  programmes ran by Croatian Public Employment Service (HZZ) in 2009 and

  2010. We observed whether participants were registered with HZZ as

  unemployed persons at several points in time after their participation

  in programme ceased. Effectiveness was analytically evaluated by the

  application of matching techniques, as we compared outcomes of

  participants with control group comprised of unemployed persons with

  similar observable characteristics who did not participate in measures.

  We evaluated five measures for which appropriate matching could be

  enacted: (1) employment subsidies for the youth with no employment

  experience, (2) long-term unemployed and (3) older unemployed persons;

  (4) training programmes for the unemployed and (5) public works. Within

  the observed period, expenses and coverage of ALMPs were on increase,

  although Croatia still lags considerably in this respect after most EU

  countries. Results of this quasi-experimental evaluation approach do not

  indicate that participation bears a particularly strong effect with

  respect to the observed outcome. Participants in all three employment

  subsidy programmes were less likely to be in unemployment than controls

  for the first two years after subsidies ceased, but the advantage of

  participants was declining over time, and the matching effect is likely

  overestimated as it does not account for creaming effect, as selection

  of (more employable) candidates was done on employer initiative.

  Education programmes on the average turned out to reduce probability of

  leaving unemployment for a year after participation (due to programme

  effect), and within the two years (maximal observed time span)

  probability of being unemployed for participants of training programmes

  was about the same (or minimally lower) than for comparable

  non-participants. However, education measures turned to be more

  effective when certain subpopulations were observed: persons without

  upper secondary education, persons who entered unemployment from

  inactivity (not regular education) and among persons who have not spent

  a very long period in unemployment prior to participation. Participation

  in public work programmes was estimated to have increased mid-term

  unemployment risk for participants, but this has to be understood

  through both programme effect and selection of the most vulnerable

  unemployed in public works. Additionally, higher probability of being in

  unemployment among public work participants when compared to controls

  can be interpreted in terms of activation - if they did not participate

  in public work, more of them might have left unemployment for inactivity

  (which likely happened to many statistical twins with whom they were

  matched). In conclusion, the number of persons who were estimated not to

  be in unemployment due to ALMP participation compared with total funding

  in order to estimate efficiency of spending for each ALMP was evaluated.'
author: Matkovic, Teo and Babic, Zdenko and Vuga, Annamaria
author_list:
- family: Matkovic
  given: Teo
- family: Babic
  given: Zdenko
- family: Vuga
  given: Annamaria
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.3935/rsp.v19i3.1100
eissn: 1845-6014
files: []
issn: 1330-2965
journal: REVIJA ZA SOCIJALNU POLITIKU
keywords: active labour market policies; evaluation
language: Croatian
month: NOV
number: '3'
number-of-cited-references: '28'
orcid-numbers: Babic, Zdenko/0000-0002-3896-8688
pages: 303-336
papis_id: d94c7794179ee55717ccf71368f80b09
ref: Matkovic2012evaluationactive
researcherid-numbers: Babic, Zdenko/A-5785-2012
times-cited: '5'
title: EVALUATION OF ACTIVE LABOUR MARKET POLICIES IN 2009 AND 2010 IN THE REPUBLIC
  OF CROATIA
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000311973700004
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '26'
volume: '19'
web-of-science-categories: Social Issues
year: '2012'