2020/10/10 by Senhu Wang, Adam Coutts, Brendan Burchell +2 · 1 citation
Health Professions · Social Sciences · #Employment and Welfare Studies #Health disparities and outcomes #Retirement, Disability, and Employment
paper · pdf · doi:10.1177/0950017020946664
openalex publication_date 2020/10/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/17
Active Labour Market Programmes (ALMPs), which form important components of employment support policies around the world, have been found to improve mental health and wellbeing of participants. However, it remains unclear how these health effects compare with the effects of different types of employment for men and women. Using 1991–2019 panel data in the UK, we find that unemployed women derive similar mental health benefits from ALMPs compared with employment. Unemployed men also benefit from ALMPs but obtain significantly more health benefits from formal employment. Such benefits are particularly pronounced in full-time, permanent and upper/middle-status jobs. Further analyses reveal that programmes that deliver human capital training have larger mental health benefits than employment assistance ALMPs. These findings provide a more nuanced understanding of the mental health impacts of ALMPs compared with different types of employment, and highlight the need for a more gender-sensitive design in labour market interventions.