The welfare effects

The utility from participation in activation, i.e. the consumption aspect of work-fare, is neither easy to define nor to measure correctly. It can be related to expectations of improved job opportunities or to the participation in activation schemes. 

In addition, the activated persons were asked if the programme in their opinion had a purpose at all. 

The study finds that the participants in general evaluate quality of life and personal aspects of activation more highly than labour market oriented aspects (Arbejdsministeriet 2001 Bach 2002). A majority of the participants believes that activation leads to a better everyday life (70%) and to more self-confidence 

The attitude towards activation could be expected to depend on the participants position on the labour market after the activation period. An analysis of the survey data finds that people who get a job later are more likely to believe in the educational effect of activation, and people who are still in the social system are more likely to emphasise the soft personal aspects of activation, but there is no highly significant dependence on attitudes towards labour market positions. 

The participants perception of the purpose of activation depends to some degree on the type of activation offered. The variation among participants is largest for the purposes qualifications for ordinary jobs and no qualifications at all.  

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Katz, M. (1987). The welfare effects of third-degree price discrimination in intermediate good markets. American Economic Review, 77(1) 154-167. 

O Brien, D.P. and G. Shaffer, The Welfare Effects Of Forbidding Discriminatory Discounts A Secondary-Line Analysis Of The Robinson-Patman Act, Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, 10, 2 (1994), 296-318. 

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