Employment effects of a social and labour inclusion programme

Abstract

In this paper, we analyse the impacts of a social and labour inclusion programme, Uruguay Trabaja (UT) on employment and job quality through objective and subjective e measures. Using administrative data and a custom survey, we estimate the programme’s causal effects by exploiting the random assignment of the beneficiaries. Our findings suggest that participants in UT are more likely to secure formal employment and earn higher formal wages compared to non-participants, with indications of these effects enduring over time. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that UT contributes to increased labour market participation, and satisfaction across various dimensions of employment, overall job satisfaction, and general life satisfaction in the medium term. We also investigate the significance of two channels in driving the observed outcomes: the means of accessing employment and training opportunities. This study underscores the importance of implementing comprehensive programmes for vulnerable populations and emphasizes the value of considering medium-term impacts when assessing programme effectiveness.