The Employment and Earnings of Public Assistance Recipients and the Effects of the 2013 Reform in Japan

Abstract

　This study examines the employment and earnings of public assistance recipients in Japan, utilizing household-level data from the Survey on Public Assistance Recipients complied by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. First, we provide basic descriptive statistics on the employment of the recipients and analyze the factors that influence their decision to work. Second, we explain incentives for work in the public assistance system, with a focus on the Basic Deduction, and examine its effect on the earnings of the recipients. In particular, we examine the effect of the August 2013 reform of the Basic Deduction using descriptive statistics as well as panel regression based on an event-study design.