Health-related Effects of Welfare-to-Work Policies: Evidence from Spain

Resumen

In this paper we evaluate the effects of welfare-to-work programs on physical and mental health status and a variety of lifestyles. We test whether or not participation in work-related activities yields better results in terms of health outcomes than more general measures aimed at promoting life-skills. The paper is based on data from the minimum income program of the Madrid Government (IMI). We take advantage of matching the program�s administrative records �covering the whole history of the program� with a specific survey of former recipients who took part in different activities. Our results show that both health status �including physical and mental health problems� and behaviors outcomes were better for those individuals who had taken part in work-related activities.