“Getting Tough on Unemployment” › view all

BIGSSS Postdoctoral Fellow Carlo Knotz receives the 2017 Research Prize of the Swedish Federation of Unemployment Funds (Arbetslöshetskassornas Samorganisation, SO) for his doctoral research project.

The SO Research Prize is awarded every other year to stimulate research that is relevant to the work of unemployment insurance funds. Carlo shares this year’s prize with Patrick Vulkan of the University of Gothenburg.

Congratulations, Carlo!

Dissertation Abstract

Carlo’s dissertation, entitled “Getting Tough on Unemployment”, is concerned with finding out how and, more importantly, why countries introduce policies that put the unemployed under greater pressure to seek and accept employment. These policies include cutbacks to the generosity of unemployment benefits, tighter job-search requirements, widening the definition of “suitable work”, and harsher sanctions for those failing to comply with these requirements.

He employs two original comparative datasets, one on the conditionality of unemployment benefits in 21 OECD countries, which he compiled together with Moira Nelson and several other collaborators, and one on unemployment benefit duration cutbacks compiled with Johannes Lindvall.

His dissertation provides novel empirical and theoretical insights into which reforms have been introduced in the OECD democracies over the last 30 years, why they have been introduced, how voters think (and change their thinking) about these policies, and under which conditions those who tend to be hurt by these reforms can get compensated.