Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/308514 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Citation: 
[Journal:] Journal for Labour Market Research [ISSN:] 2510-5027 [Volume:] 58 [Issue:] 1 [Article No.:] 22 [Year:] 2024 [Pages:] 1-19
Publisher: 
Springer, Heidelberg
Abstract: 
Non-take-up of welfare schemes is a key concern of policy effectiveness. Building on studies that have shown the low take-up of minimum income schemes, our case study of Ireland's Working Family Payment is the first to analyse non-take-up of an in-work benefit and its determinants with a special focus on labour market factors. Based on EU-SILC (2014-2019) we estimate a non-take-up rate between 63 and 76%, which poses a major obstacle for effective poverty prevention. Moreover, we stress that non-take-up of in-work benefits differs to minimum income schemes. We provide new evidence on how labour market characteristics play an important role in explaining non-take-up, especially self-employment and the interaction with unemployment benefits. Benefit erosion is a key factor in declining eligibility, which should be addressed by indexing wages and prices. Furthermore, we propose policy reforms around automatic enrolment or tax credits to mitigate non-take-up and alleviate in-work poverty.
Subjects: 
Administrative design
In-work benefits
In-work poverty
Labour market characteristics
Non-take-up
Working family payment
JEL: 
H31
D04
J38
C15
H53
I38
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article

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