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The Effectiveness of Public Policies to Promote Employment and Safety

Paper Session

Friday, Jan. 5, 2018 12:30 PM - 2:15 PM

Pennsylvania Convention Center, 202-B
Hosted By: Labor and Employment Relations Association
  • Chair: Katharine Abraham, University of Maryland

Welfare to Work Propensities: Administrative Record Evidence

Ting Zhang
,
University of Baltimore
Dan Gerlowski
,
University of Baltimore

Abstract

Welfare to Work Propensities: Administrative Record Evidence

Startups FOR Unemployment? A Randomized Control Trial Study in Florida

Neha Nanda
,
IMPAQ International, LLC
Carolyn Corea
,
IMPAQ International, LLC
Bruno Gasperini
,
IMPAQ International, LLC

Abstract

Startups FOR Unemployment? A Randomized Control Trial Study in Florida

The Effect of Workplace Inspections on Worker Safety

Ling Li
,
Syracuse University
Perry Singleton
,
Syracuse University

Abstract

The Occupation Safety and Health Administration enforces safety regulations
through workplace inspections. To identify the effect of inspections on worker safety, this study
exploits quasi-experimental variation in inspections due to OSHA’s Site-Specific Targeting plan.
Using the fuzzy regression discontinuity design and local linear regression, the estimated effect
of an inspection on cases involving days away from work, job restrictions, and job transfers is -
1.706 per 100 full-time equivalent workers. The effect is most pronounced among manufacturing
establishments below the 90th percentile of the case-rate distribution.

Payroll Subsidies and Employment: Evidence From Nursing Homes

Thomas Hegland
,
University of Maryland

Abstract

This research provides new evidence on the effect of payroll subsidies on nursing home staffing levels through study of a large set of nursing home payroll subsidies established by state Medicaid programs in the late 1990s and 2000s, many of which are still in place. One common feature of the subsidies adopted across all states is that each nursing home's subsidy rate was scaled linearly by its share of residents on Medicaid, generating heterogeneity in subsidy rates within each state adopting a subsidy. Otherwise, the subsidies adopted varied dramatically in design across states, to the extent that identical nursing homes in Maine, Florida, and California could have faced subsidy rates that were increasing, decreasing, or constant in payroll expenditure per nursing home resident. This study aims to exploit both the across-state variation in subsidy adoption and subsidy design as well as the variation in subsidy rates across firms within the same state to identify the effects of nursing home payroll subsidies and to compare the relative efficacy of different payroll subsidy regimes. In addition to being informative for the broader literature on payroll subsidies, this research is also of direct importance for nursing home residents because nursing home staffing is a key input into care quality and so subsidy efficacy may have substantial welfare implications.
Discussant(s)
Marcus Dillender
,
Upjohn Institute
Till M. von Wachter
,
University of California-Los Angeles
JEL Classifications
  • J6 - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers