How do employment subsidies affect female labor participation, and how can they be improved to inform better public policies?
These are some of the questions raised by researcher Jorge Rodríguez at the School of Economics and Business Administration in the first results of his most recent research.
The study focuses on the Bono al Trabajo de la Mujer (BTM) (Women's Work Bonus), a program in force in Chile since 2012 that supplements the salaries of working women between the ages of 25 and 59 belonging to lower-income households, according to their score on the Social Household Registry.
The project was recently awarded Fondecyt Regular 2025 funding and has received support from the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, through the Early Career Research Award, a fund aimed at promoting research with a high potential impact on labor policies. The study was also selected by the Ministry of Social Development to participate in the Social Information Registry (RIS), Chile's most complete repository of social data, which has enabled access to Social Household Registry data.
"The research examines how employment subsidies affect female labor participation and what mechanisms explain these effects. In particular, I analyze the Bono al Trabajo de la Mujer, a program that seeks to support working women and, at the same time, encourage their entry into the labor market," Rodríguez explains.
In a first stage, the study evaluates evaluates the impact of BTM eligibility on the probability of employment, comparing women located just above and just below the eligibility threshold, wich corresponds to the most vulnerable 40% of the population. The results show that eligibility for the benefit produces no significant effects on either employment or labor income.
Based on these results, the research advances to a second stage aimed at understanding why the subsidy does not produce the expected effects. "We consider two main mechanisms: the insufficiency of the subsidy amount to modify labor supply and the existence of information gaps about the program," says Rodríguez.
To further explore these hypotheses, the team is conducting a national survey examining the level of awareness of the BTM, application attempts, and reasons for not accessing the benefit.
Rodríguez's interest in this topic stems from the convergence of two significant labor market challenges.
"On the one hand, I am interested in studying social policies that combine economic support with work incentives. The Bono al Trabajo de la Mujer is a good example of this, as it seeks to promote economic autonomy and labor market integration, as opposed to more welfare-oriented programs," he says.
At the same time, Rodríguez highlights the persistence of the gender gap in employment and labor force participation. "While these structural and cultural factors are slow to change, an employment subsidy can be an effective short-term tool to reduce this gap, even if it is not a definitive solution," he adds.
Regarding the impact of the results of his research, the academic hopes the results will contribute to public debate and the design of better public policies.
"I hope that this research will help us better understand why this type of policy may or may not be effective. In the case of Chile, I am confident that our findings will provide useful evidence for the discussion on the new bill establishing the Unified Employment Subsidy,"he notes.