TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Abbiati, Giovanni
AU  - Battistin, Erich
AU  - Monti, Paola
AU  - Pinotti, Paolo
        TI  - Fast-Tracked Jobs Help Asylum Seekers Integrate Faster
        PY  - 2025/Apr/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 17859
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp17859
        AB  - We evaluate a labor market integration program that fast-tracked asylum seekers into the Italian labor market through personalized job mentoring, placement assistance, and on-the-job training. Leveraging randomized assignment across reception centers and individual-level administrative records, we find effects on employment rates of $10$ percentage points, or $30\%$ over the baseline, over a 18-month period. The program also improved job quality through increased access to fixed-term and open-ended contracts. Subsidized internships were a critical pathway to transitioning participants into standard employment. Survey data indicate that these effects reflect a net increase in employment, rather than a shift from informal to formal jobs. We also document broader benefits on socioeconomic integration, including language proficiency and social networks with native Italians.
        KW  - job mentoring
KW  - labor market integration
KW  - asylum seekers
KW  - socioeconomic integration
        ER  -