RCT search requirements in UI

Last registered on January 22, 2025

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
RCT search requirements in UI
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015199
Initial registration date
January 20, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
January 22, 2025, 8:29 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Affiliation
UWV (Employee Insurance Agency Netherlands)

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-01-27
End date
2028-12-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The Employee Insurance Agency Netherlands and ministry of Social Affairs agreed to run an RCT to investigate (A) the effectiveness of search requirements in UI and (B) the effectiveness of an alternative approach to search requirements, i.e. in which there are more possibilities for non-standard requirements.

To that aim, individuals who flow into UI from january (27th) 2025 are divided in three research groups:
(1) a group without search requirements
(2) a group with 'individualized' search requirements
(3) a control group/status quo
Eventually, over 100.000 UI recipients will be included in the experiment.

The 'standard' search requirement in the Netherlands is to do 4 activities that increase the job finding probability every 4 weeks.

The group without search requirements has an exemption from this 'standard' search requirement. They also has an exemption from the requirement to 'accept suitable jobs'. The Employee Insurance Agency keeps actively offering all services including conversations with the caseworker and ALMP's. However, those in group (1) are not required to accept these services.

The group with 'individualized' search requirements are requested to fill in a 'personal plan' before their first conversation with the caseworker. The plan is designed to stimulate a learning-goal orientation (as opposed to the traditional goal oriented search requirements). The caseworkers are also trained to stimulate the learning-goal orientation of the unemployed workers in this research group. Another element of the treatment in this group is that all UI-recipients have an early first conversation with the caseworker (within the first two months of unemployment). For the status quo, this is not always the case. Early contact is necessary in order to set individualized requirements and set up the 'personal plan'.

Individuals flowing into UI are informed per electronic message and thereafter per letter about the experiment. If they do not wish to be in one of the research groups (1 and 2), they can transfer to the control group within a month of receiving the letter. Ie there is an op-out decision.

The results of the experiment will be evaluated by two external research parties. They will focus on various outcomes: not only UI-duration and labor participation, but also the experiences of UI-recipients and employees/caseworkers.


Registration Citation

Citation
Lammers, Marloes. 2025. "RCT search requirements in UI." AEA RCT Registry. January 22. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15199-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Individuals who flow into UI from january (27th) 2025 are divided in three research groups:
(1) a group without search requirements
(2) a group with 'individualized' search requirements
(3) a control group/status quo
Eventually, over 100.000 UI recipients will be included in the experiment.

The 'standard' search requirement in the Netherlands is to do 4 activities that increase the job finding probability every 4 weeks.

The group without search requirements has an exemption from this 'standard' search requirement. They also has an exemption from the requirement to 'accept suitable jobs'. The Employee Insurance Agency keeps actively offering all services including conversations with the caseworker and ALMP's. However, those in group (1) are not required to accept these services.

The group with 'individualized' search requirements are requested to fill in a 'personal plan' before their first conversation with the caseworker. The plan is designed to stimulate a learning-goal orientation (as opposed to the traditional goal oriented search requirements). The caseworkers are also trained to stimulate the learning-goal orientation of the unemployed workers in this research group. Another element of the treatment in this group is that all UI-recipients have an early first conversation with the caseworker (within the first two months of unemployment). For the status quo, this is not always the case. Early contact is necessary in order to set individualized requirements and set up the 'personal plan'.
Intervention Start Date
2025-01-27
Intervention End Date
2028-01-27

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Labor participation
UI duration
UI benefit costs and other costs of social insurances
Cost effectiveness
(Job search) behaviour, experiences and opinions of UI recipients
Experiences of caseworkers
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Use of services: number and type of conversations with caseworkers, ALMP's
Enforcement
Quality of the job (income, type of contract)
Outflow state (into a job, other benefits, reach maximum UI duration, other)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Enforcement:
- number of automated messages to the client which are sent at the moment they do not search requirements.
- number of conversations with the caseworker which have as a goal to check search requirements
- number of warnings and sanctions
- number of objections and appeals

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
UI recipients are at random distributed over the three experimental groups. A number of local offices will offer all three research options, the remainder will only offer the 'status quo' and the group 'without search requirements'.

Those offices who offer all three research options will work with a 'dedicated team' of caseworkers who will offer services to those UI-recipients who are in the 'individualized' search requirements group. Those caseworkers will get a training on how to work with the new 'personal plan' and to adjust their coaching style accordingly. The other caseworkers will guide both the 'no search requirements' group and the status quo/control group.

In those office who will only offer the 'status quo' and the group 'without search requirements', all caseworkers will guide both the 'no search requirements' group and the status quo/control group.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Based on final digit of the social security number.
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
na
Sample size: planned number of observations
121.000 (estimated)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
32.000 no search requirements (estimated)
25.000 individualized search requirements (estimated)
64.000 status quo (estimated)
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
A power analysis shows that we should be able to detect an effect size of 2% point difference in the outflow to work between the 'status quo' and 'no search requirements' group for subgroups that are as large as 25% of the full UI-population. For the entire UI-population in the experiment, we should be able to detect a 1% difference. Based on a power of 80%. For the difference between 'status quo' and 'individualized search requirements' those numbers are 2,6% for subgroups as large as 25% of the full population, and 1,3% for the full population in the experiment.
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Raad van State
IRB Approval Date
2024-04-18
IRB Approval Number
N/A
IRB Name
Commissie Ethiek UWV
IRB Approval Date
2023-03-29
IRB Approval Number
N/A