Individualized Benefits and Access to Active Labor Market Programs Boost Refugee Women's Economic Integration

Cristina Bratu; Linna Martén; Lillit Ottosson

doi:10.1162/rest_a_01554

Individualized Benefits and Access to Active Labor Market Programs Boost Refugee Women's Economic Integration

Cristina Bratu¹; Linna Martén²; Lillit Ottosson³

¹ VATT Institute for Economic Research; Uppsala Urban Lab; UCLS; Uppsala Center for Fiscal Studies · ² Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University; Stanford Immigration Policy Lab; UIL · ³ Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University; IFAU; UCLS; UIL

The Review of Economics and Statistics 2025 open access

Abstract The economic and social integration of refugees is a key policy concern and the situation of refugee women is particularly challenging, as many never enter the labor force. We study a reform of the Swedish integration program designed to tackle this issue by increasing women's participation in and access to active labor market programs. Using administrative data and a regression discontinuity design, we show that the reform resulted in lasting improvements in women's earnings and employment. We find no effects for men. Additional analyses suggest that individualizing financial benefits and early registration with the Public Employment Service are key mechanisms.

DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_01554
Pages: 1-35
Language: en
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