Why do tougher caseworkers increase employment? The role of programme assignment as a causal mechanism

Previous research found that less accommodating caseworkers are more successful in placing unemployed workers into employment. This paper tries to shed more light on the causal mechanisms behind this result using semiparametric mediation analysis. Analysing very informative linked jobseeker-caseworker data for Switzerland, we find that the positive employment effects of less accommodating caseworkers are not driven by a particularly ef-fective mix of labour market programmes they use, but rather by other dimensions of the counselling process, possibly including threat effects of sanctions, pressure to accept jobs, and other factors related to the caseworker’s counselling style.