Active Labor Market Policy and Youth Employment in Japan - Policy Evaluation of the Job Café Related Projects -
This paper conducts a policy evaluation of the Job Café support programs that had been
implemented as the regional active labor market policy for the youth since the 2000s in
Japan. First, we estimate job matching function using prefectural panel data to
examine whether the efficiency of job matching increased in the target model regions
covered by the programs. The results show that the matching efficiency may have
increased in the target model regions as a result of the Job Café support programs
between FY 2005 and 2007. Next, we conduct a difference-in-differences analysis based
on regression model, using household panel data, to examine whether the individual
employment probability increased. The results do not show the strong evidence that the
probability of regular and non-regular employment increased in the target model
regions. Thus, we interpret that while the Job Café support programs may have created
employment for Job Café users, the programs did not significantly improved the overall
employment environment of the youth in the region.
