Non-take-up of in-work benefits: determinants, benefit erosion and indexing
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 sp...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2024-11-01
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| Series: | Journal for Labour Market Research |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12651-024-00385-8 |
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| author | Diego Muñoz-Higueras Stephan Köppe Rafael Granell Amadeo Fuenmayor |
| author_facet | Diego Muñoz-Higueras Stephan Köppe Rafael Granell Amadeo Fuenmayor |
| author_sort | Diego Muñoz-Higueras |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-66a8697afb0f47eca25fdc8466c71e7d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2510-5027 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal for Labour Market Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-66a8697afb0f47eca25fdc8466c71e7d2024-11-10T12:12:09ZengSpringerOpenJournal for Labour Market Research2510-50272024-11-0158111910.1186/s12651-024-00385-8Non-take-up of in-work benefits: determinants, benefit erosion and indexingDiego Muñoz-Higueras0Stephan Köppe1Rafael Granell2Amadeo Fuenmayor3Department of Applied Economics, University of ValenciaSchool of Social Policy Social Work and Social Justice, University College DublinDepartment of Applied Economics, University of ValenciaDepartment of Applied Economics, University of ValenciaAbstract 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.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12651-024-00385-8Non-take-upAdministrative designIn-work benefitsIn-work povertyLabour market characteristicsWorking family payment |
| spellingShingle | Diego Muñoz-Higueras Stephan Köppe Rafael Granell Amadeo Fuenmayor Non-take-up of in-work benefits: determinants, benefit erosion and indexing Journal for Labour Market Research Non-take-up Administrative design In-work benefits In-work poverty Labour market characteristics Working family payment |
| title | Non-take-up of in-work benefits: determinants, benefit erosion and indexing |
| title_full | Non-take-up of in-work benefits: determinants, benefit erosion and indexing |
| title_fullStr | Non-take-up of in-work benefits: determinants, benefit erosion and indexing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Non-take-up of in-work benefits: determinants, benefit erosion and indexing |
| title_short | Non-take-up of in-work benefits: determinants, benefit erosion and indexing |
| title_sort | non take up of in work benefits determinants benefit erosion and indexing |
| topic | Non-take-up Administrative design In-work benefits In-work poverty Labour market characteristics Working family payment |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12651-024-00385-8 |
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