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Torben Tranaes

SFI—The Danish National Centre for Social Research, Denmark, and IZA, Germany

I expect World of Labor to be a valuable focal point for policymakers and academic scholars and I’m excited to be a part of the project

IZA World of Labor role

Author

Current position

Executive Director of Research and Professor, SFI—The Danish National Centre for Social Research

Research interest

Labor market policy and institutions, immigration and integration, unemployment insurance and workfare, equality of opportunity, crime and the labor market

Website

https://www.vive.dk/en/employees/torben-tranaes-g2j1x329/

Positions/functions as a policy advisor

The Danish Ministry of Employment

Past positions

Research Director and Professor, SFI—The Rockwool Foundation Research Unit (September 2003–April 2015); Associate Professor, The University of Copenhagen (January 1996–January 2002)

Qualifications

PhD Economics, University of Copenhagen, 1994

Selected publications

  • “Optimal workfare with voluntary and involuntary unemployment.” The Scandinavian Journal of Economics 107:3 (2005): 459– (with C. Thustrup Kreiner).

  • “Job search and savings: Wealth effects and duration dependence.” Journal of Labor Economics 23:3 (2005): 467–490 (with R. Lentz).

  • “Migrants, work, and the welfare state: An introduction,” and “Migrants, work, and the welfare state: Summary.” In Tranæs, T., and K. F. Zimmermann Migrants, Work, and the Welfare State. University Press of Southern Denmark, 2004.

  • “To what extent are we equalizing opportunities for income acquisition among citizens.” Journal of Public Economics 87:3–4 (2003): 539–565 (with J. E. Roemer et al.).

  • “Raiding opportunities and unemployment.” Journal of Labor Economics 19:4 (2001): 773–798.

article(s)

  • Active labor market policies and crime

    Unemployment increases crime among youth, while active labor market policies can mitigate the problem

    Torben Tranaes, September 2015
    Active labor market programs continue to receive high priority in wealthy countries despite the fact that the benefits appear small relative to the costs. This apparent discrepancy suggests that the programs may have a broader purpose than simply increasing employment—for instance, preventing anti-social behavior such as crime. Indeed, recent evidence shows that participation in active labor market programs reduces crime among unemployed young men. The existence of such effects could explain why it is the income-redistributing countries with greater income equality that spend the most on active labor market programs.
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