Université de Fribourg

Why do tougher caseworkers increase employment? : The role of programme assignment as a causal mechanism

Huber, Martin ; Lechner, Michael ; Mellace, Giovanni

In: Review of economics and statistics, 2017, vol. 99, no. 1, p. 180-183

Previous research found that less accommodating caseworkers are more success- ful in placing unemployed workers into employment. This paper explores the causal mechanisms behind this result using semiparametric mediation analysis. Analysing rich linked jobseeker-caseworker data for Switzerland, we find that the positive employment effects of less accommodating caseworkers are not driven by a ...

Università della Svizzera italiana

Spatial filtering and eigenvector stability : Space-time model for German unemployment data

Patuelli, Roberto ; Griffith, Daniel A. ; Tiefelsdorf, Michael ; Nijkamp, Peter

Regions, independent of their geographic level of aggregation, are known to be interrelated partly due to their relative locations. Similar economic performance among regions can be attributed to proximity. Consequently, a proper understanding, and accounting, of spatial liaisons is needed in order to effectively forecast regional economic variables. Several spatial econometric techniques are...