Gustavo Bobonis, University of Toronto

About the Presentation

There is a growing realization that in order to help low-income households achieve self-sufficiency it is necessary to address both economic disincentives to work as well as behavioral barriers that prevent the poor from finding and retaining employment. To explore this empirically, we study the long-run impacts of the Self-Sufficiency Project (SSP) Plus experiment, which randomly assigned chronic welfare recipients to receive temporary work subsidies and intensive employment support services. We examine whether this intervention lead to permanent changes in individuals’ socioeconomic trajectories. We link study participants to their federal tax records to follow them up to 20 years after random assignment. Compared to those receiving only the temporary work subsidies or no intervention, we find that the added support services of the SSP Plus program led to a large increase in full-time employment and an analogous decrease in the receipt of Social Assistance throughout the first decade post-intervention.  We also find a permanent 20-27 percent increase in participants’ annual earnings over the 20-year period. We show evidence consistent with the retention of jobs that are of higher quality as an important pathway of these long-term effects. Taken together, the results indicate that the intensive support services offered through the program significantly transformed the lives of these individuals.

About the Speaker

Gustavo Bobonis is a Professor of Economics at the University of Toronto. His areas of interest include development economics, political economy, and household economics. Gustavo’s recent research has focused on evaluating barriers to good government in democracies by investigating the personnel economics of the state and the complex relationships between voter patronage, poverty, local customs, and government responsiveness. He received his PhD in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Note Change in Normal Day.  This seminar is on a Tuesday

Also Note:  This will be held as a HYBRID seminar.  Please therefore register using either the link for the in person RSVP or using the registration link for the virtual zoom meeting.  Same seminar, but please register for the method you wish to attend

Location IN PERSON: in 1101 Morrill Hall.  We are requesting advanced registration so that we can track capacity.  Please use this link to RSVP.

Location ONLINE VIA ZOOM: Online via Zoom - Zoom Link to Register . Upon registration you will receive an automatically generated email with the direct link for the seminar.

COVID-19 Information

MPRC public events for Fall 2021 will be a mix of in person and  online via Zoom(One or the other, not hybrid).  For in person events, all event attendees must follow current protocols