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Conny Wunsch

University of Basel, Switzerland, and IZA, Germany

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Author

Current position

Professor of Labor Economics, University of Basel, Switzerland

Research interest

Labor economics, in particular the evaluation and optimal design of policies targeted at the unemployed

Website

https://wwz.unibas.ch/en/wunsch/

Past positions

Associate Professor, VU University Amsterdam (06/2011–08/2013; part-time until 08/2012); Assistant Professor of Economics, University of St. Gallen (02/2009–06/2012); Postdoctoral Fellow, Swiss Institute for Empirical Economic Research, University of St. Gallen (05/2008–06/2012)

Qualifications

PhD Economics and Finance, University of St. Gallen, 2008

Selected publications

  • “Government-sponsored vocational education for adults.” In: Hanushek, E. A., S. J. Machin, and L. Woessmann (eds). Handbook of the Economics of Education, Volume 5. Amsterdam: North-Holland, 2016; pp. 479–652 (with B. McCall and J. Smith).

  • “Workplace health promotion and labour market performance of employees.” Journal of Health Economics 43 (2015): 170–189 (with M. Huber and M. Lechner).

  • “Optimal use of labor market policies: The role of job search assistance.” Review of Economics and Statistics 95:3 (2013): 1030–1045.

  • “Evaluating nationwide health interventions: Malawi’s insecticide treated net distribution programme.” Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A 177:2 (2013): 523–552 (with E. Deuchert).

  • “The performance of estimators based on the propensity score.” Journal of Econometrics 175:1 (2013): 1–21 (with M. Huber and M. Lechner).

article(s)

  • How to minimize lock-in effects of programs for unemployed workers

    Appropriate timing and targeting of activation programs for the unemployed can help improve their cost-effectiveness

    Conny Wunsch, September 2016
    Activation programs, such as job search assistance, training, or work experience programs for unemployed workers, typically initially produce negative employment effects. These so-called “lock-in effects” occur because participants spend less time and effort on job search activities than non-participants. Lock-in effects need to be offset by sufficiently large post-participation employment or earnings for the programs to be cost-effective. They represent key indirect costs that are often more important than direct program costs. The right timing and targeting of these programs can improve their cost-effectiveness by reducing lock-in effects.
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