Synthesis report on the ‘Pilot projects to carry out ESF related counterfactual impact evaluations’

In order to measure the causal effect of a policy, a specific approach called ‘counterfactual impact evaluation’ is needed. This report highlights that data access, networking, capacity building and taking evaluation requirements into account during the policy implementation are key for shifting to a culture of causal evaluation of policies.These results derive from eight pilot projects funded by DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion to foster themeasurement of causal effects of European Social Fund policie

Active Labour Market Policies in Flanders. Evaluation of the ESF “Work Experience for Young Persons” programme

The aim of this report is to evaluate the "Work Experience for Young Persons" (WIJ) programme, implemented in Flanders from 2015 until 2018. The WIJ programme is targeted at unqualified young unemployed with the aim of facilitating their entry to the labour market, through an intensive guiding trajectory which includes labour market orientation and coaching, and possibly competence strengthening activities. The analysis is based on administrative data sources from the Flemish Public Employment Service. Using detailed information on the past labour market histories of youth, we apply matching approaches to evaluate the impact of WIJ in terms of probability of being employed or re-entering education for young unemployed. Our results suggest that those who have participated in the WIJ programme have lower employment and education probabilities. However, if we only consider those whose WIJ intervention lasted less than 14 months (which includes all participants within the standard trajectory), there are no significant differences between the treated and the control group in terms of employment probability. Furthermore, the negative effect on the probability of being enrolled in education is smaller in this group than in the whole sample. Those who followed the standard trajectory thus clearly outperformed those in extended trajectories. Because relatively little is known about the selection process of the treated individuals, these results should be interpreted with caution.JRC.I.1-Monitoring, Indicators & Impact Evaluatio

Synthesis report on the call ‘Pilot projects to carry out ESF related counterfactual impact evaluations’

In order to measure the causal effect of a policy, a specific approach called ‘counterfactual impact evaluation’ is needed. This report highlights that data access, networking, capacity building and taking evaluation requirements into account during the policy implementation are key for shifting to a culture of causal evaluation of policies. These results derive from eight pilot projects funded by DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion to foster the measurement of causal effects of European Social Fund policies.JRC.DDG.01-Econometrics and applied statistic

Evaluation of neoadjuvant chemotherapy-induced changes in contralateral healthy breast tissue through diffuse optical spectroscopy

This study aims at evaluating the effect of NeoAdjuvant Chemotherapy (NAC) on the contralateral tumor-free breast tissue through time domain diffuse optical spectroscopy. The breast tissue composition consisting of hemoglobin, water, lipid, and collagen concentrations is quantitatively derived using our seven-wavelength (635-1060 nm) optical mammograph. Preliminary analysis of ten patients' data shows compositional changes occurring in the non-tumor breast in addition to the tumor breast. This includes reduction in breast density and components’ concentrations through the course of the therapy. The final goal is to eventually identify if there is a correlation of these effects with pathological complete response

Does on-the-job training help graduates find a job? Evidence from an Italian region

This paper provides an evaluation of a training programme for graduates entitled \Work Experience for Graduates" (WELL - Work Experience Laureati and Laureate) that was re-cently implemented in Italy. The aim of the programme was to increase the career prospects of unemployed graduates in the region of Umbria. It consisted of two measures: (i) on-the-job training for unemployed graduates, and (ii) wage subsidies to firms and organisations for hiring the trainees at the end of the programme. We rely on administrative data and matching methods to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention in terms of the employability of participants. Results indicate that WELL participants are more likely to be employed and to sign an apprenticeship contract within the region. We also find substantial gender differences in employability and the type of contract obtained, with men having a higher probability of finding a job (permanent contract or apprenticeship). We show that this may be explained by different choices in terms of field of study, with males being more prone to enrolling in scientific areas and females in the humanities.JRC.I.1-Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluatio

Factors predicting health science students' willingness to be vaccinated against seasonal flu during the next campaign

Introduction. Influenza is an infectious disease with a high burden, for which a safe and efficacy vaccine is available. However, vaccination coverage is generally low, also among Health Care Workers (HCW). Health Professions students are comparable to HCW in terms of workplace exposure. Aim. The study aim was to identify predictive factors of flu vaccination acceptance among Italian students of Health Professions. Methods. A cross-sectional study was performed using a validated, on-line, anonymous questionnaire. Data were analyzed performing both univariable and multivariable logistic analysis. Results. The results showed a statistically significant association between intention to vaccinate next year and: geographical distribution, considering themselves at higher risk due to their profession, having been vaccinated last year, having recommended the vaccination last year, and being willing to recommend it next year and being favorable to mandatory vaccination. In conclusion, identifying an effective vaccination strategy and including students in flu vaccination campaigns might have positive effect on vaccination acceptance.

The Italian Implementation of the EU Directives on Procedural Safeguards for Accused Persons in Criminal Proceedings

Questo saggio è stato sviluppato nel corso di un progetto di ricerca di 30 mesi finanziato dalla Commissione europea - CrossJustice (https://site.unibo.it/cross-justice/en), condotto sotto la supervisione dell'Università di Bologna. L'obiettivo del progetto era verificare il livello di attuazione delle sei direttive sui diritti dell'imputato adottate dal 2009 nell'ambito del Programma di Stoccolma. La ricerca ha esaminato criticamente i diritti dell'imputato riconosciuti e tutelati dalla Direttiva 2010/64/UE del 20 ottobre 2010 sul diritto all'interpretazione e alla traduzione; dalla Direttiva 2012/13/UE del 22 maggio 2012 sul diritto all'informazione; la Direttiva 2013/48/UE sul diritto di accesso a un difensore e di informazione di terzi; la Direttiva 2016/343/UE del 9 marzo 2016 sulla presunzione di innocenza e il diritto di presenziare al processo; la Direttiva 2016/800/UE sulle garanzie procedurali per gli imputati minorenni; la Direttiva 2016/1919/UE del 26 ottobre 2016 sul patrocinio a spese dello Stato. I ricercatori coinvolti hanno combinato due diverse metodologie, esaminando la questione sia da una prospettiva tradizionale, condotta da studiosi specializzati in diritto dell'UE e diritto processuale penale nazionale, sia da una nuova analisi computazionale. Nell'ambito di quest'ultimo approccio, la ricerca ha sviluppato una piattaforma di intelligenza artificiale semi-automatizzata, per evidenziare meglio le lacune scoperte dei testi normativi e migliorare l'analisi comparativa tra i sistemi giuridici (https://www.crossjustice.eu/en/index.html#crossjustice-platform)   Il presente contributo si concentra – adottando un metodo tradizionale - sul modo in cui il legislatore italiano ha recepito e attuato le suddette direttive, sia con riferimento alle disposizioni normative sia nell'interpretazione giudiziaria dei vertici del sistema. Infatti, mentre l'acquis dell'UE stabilisce standard minimi comuni in materia di diritti processuali penali, la necessità di promuoverne un'applicazione efficace e coerente rimane particolarmente pressante a causa della forte frammentazione della legislazione nazionale e della relativa giurisprudenza. In termini generali, il quadro che emerge mostra alcuni punti di forza del sistema italiano, con particolare riferimento al diritto al difensore, al diritto all'informazione e alla disclosure (e, in misura meno uniforme, alle regole di esclusione probatoria quando si tratti di tutelare le violazioni delle garanzie difensive). Non mancano tuttavia alcune criticità, spesso legate alla prassi (ad esempio, la necessaria formazione che i difensori degli imputati vulnerabili dovrebbero ricevere, il patrocinio a spese dello Stato, la qualità e l'efficacia del diritto all'interprete e la tradizione degli atti). La presente analisi del sistema italiano, insieme a quella sviluppata per gli altri 10 Stati Membri dell’UE coinvolti nel progetto (Bulgaria, Croazia, Francia, Germania, Paesi Bassi, Polonia, Portogallo, Romania, Spagna, Svezia) ed ai risultati dell’analisi semantica dei testi normativi, fondata su tecniche di Intelligenza Artificiale, ha consentito di sviluppare una ricerca innovativa nei metodi e nei contenuti, che, oltre alla piattaforma Crossjustice, ha trovato recente pubblicazione anche in un volume edito da Brill (Giuseppe Contissa, Giulia Lasagni, Michele Caianiello, Giovanni Sartor (eds.), Effective Protection of the Rights of the Accused in the EU Directives. A Computable Approach to Criminal Procedure Law, 2022)

Vocational training and labour market outcomes: Evidence from Youth Guarantee in Latvia

The aim of this report is to evaluate the impact of a vocational training (VT) programme introduced in Latvia in 2014 and targeted at unemployed youth. The training programme is part of the Youth Guarantee scheme supporting young people aged 15-29 who are not in education, employment or training (NEETs). This study is one of the first evaluations of a Youth Guarantee programme implemented in the programming period 2014-2020. Exploiting a priority rule given to Latvian youth under the age of 25, we use a Fuzzy Regression Discontinuity Design (FRDD) in order to identify the causal effect of participating in the VT programme on employment outcomes. The priority rule is used to estimate the model through instrumental variables techniques by means of Two Stages Least Squares estimators. We merge rich administrative data from the State Employment Agency of Latvia, which provide information on persons who are registered as unemployed (participants and non-participants), with data from the Latvian State Revenue Service, which provide information on income before and after the programme. The estimated effects of the programme on employment and monthly income are positive but not statistically significant, although we find a strong positive effect of the priority rule on programme participation. Overall, our findings are in line with those from the literature on the evaluation of active labour market policies targeting youth.JRC.I.1-Modelling, Indicators and Impact Evaluatio

JobsPlus evaluation

The aim of this evaluation is to provide evidence on the effectiveness of JobsPlus, a financial incentive launched in 2013 and consisting of employment subsidies for long-term unemployed. The JobsPlus scheme provides two treatment types: a subsidy of euro 7,500 for employees who had been unemployed for between one and two years, and a subsidy of euro 10,000 for employees who had been unemployed for more than two years. This analysis covers entrants from the scheme inception in July 2013 to April 2016. The effect of JobsPlus is estimated separately for the two types of subsidy exploiting the detailed information on unemployed past working histories, available in the Jobseekers Longitudinal Dataset (JLD) administrative database, applying a matching approach. The results point to a positive impact of the subsidy on JobsPlus participants who, after the programme, are less likely to be in receipt of unemployment-related benefits and show a higher probability to earn more and to work for more weeks in a year. For those we can observe over the longest duration subsequent to their JobsPlus start (four years), the difference between the two groups in their probability of receiving unemployment benefits is between 11.1 percentage points (unemployed for at least one year) and 16.4 percentage points (unemployed for at least two years).JRC.I.1-Monitoring, Indicators & Impact Evaluatio