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We present a theoretical and empirical analysis of different types of active labor market policies (ALMP). In our empirical analysis we use data on 20 OECD countries covering the time period 1985-1999. We find that labor market training is the most effective program to bring down unemployment. Public employment services have some impact while subsidized jobs are not effective at all. Our theory considers ALMP in the context of a search-matching model.

We examine how electoral motives influence active labor market policies that promote job-creation. Such policies reduce unemployment statistics. Using German state data for the period 1985 to 2004, we show that election-motivated politicians pushed job-promotion schemes before elections.

We examine how electoral motives influence active labor market policies that promote (short term) job-creation. Such policies reduce measures of unemployment. Using German state data for the period 1985 to 2004, we show that election-motivated politicians pushed job-promotion schemes before elections. Adapted from the source document.

We evaluate the presence of effects from joining one of four active labour market programs in Romania in the late 1990s compared to the no-program state. Using rich survey data and propensity score matching, we find that three programs (training and retraining, small business assistance, and employment and relocation services) had success in improving participants' economic outcomes and were cost-beneficial from society's perspective. In contrast, public employment was found detrimental for the employment prospects of its participants. We also find that there is considerable heterogeneity, which suggests that targeting may improve the effectiveness of these programs.

Using a unique micro panel data set we investigate whether active labor market programs improve employment prospects and increase mobility in the longer run. We consider two prototype programs: job creation programs and training programs. We find that both programs reduce the chances of finding a job substantially. Moreover, both programs are associated with a locking-in e.ect: the probability of finding a job outside the home region decreases after program participation. However, this e.ect appears to stem exclusively from the decrease in the overall job finding rate.

With the beginning of economic reform in the formerly centrally planned economies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), open unemployment rapidly reached comparable levels to those in Western economies. Governments in the region reacted to this rise by adopting active labor market policies (ALMP) as an important tool in the fight against unemployment. Before reviewing the evidence on the efficacy of such policies we look at the scope and the rationale of ALMP measures in a transitional context. Since government budgets are very tight in these countries it is important to evaluate ALMP in a rigorous fashion. The paper analyzes macroeconometric and microeconometric methods of program evaluation, as they were applied in transition economies. Both these approaches have a raison d'être and should be understood as complementing. Providing a selective review of the literature, some of the strengths and the pitfalls of the two approaches are highlighted. We also point to the lessons one can draw from the surveyed studies for a better understanding of how active measures affect labor market outcomes in this set of countries.