Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/319108 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 17839
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper investigates the effects of application processing times on welfare applicants' benefit and employment outcomes. For causal inference, we exploit exogenous variation in application processing times stemming from the random assignment of caseworkers. Our findings indicate that longer application processing times deter applicants from receiving benefits, particularly those with better labor market prospects. In contrast, for applicants who eventually receive benefits, longer processing times reduce labor market attachment and increase benefit dependency. Finally, using exogenous variation in caseworkers' provision of benefit prepayments, we find that the receipt of welfare prepayments increases the employment and earnings of awarded applicants. This suggests that reduced financial stress improves successful job search.
Subjects: 
instrumental variables
benefit prepayments
processing times
program application
welfare benefits
JEL: 
D73
H53
I38
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.