Measuring the effect of cash incentives on migrant integration in Norway: early results from a quasi-experiment

The Norwegian Introduction Programme (NIP) is a flagship social policy for integrating migrants into Norwegian society. NIP is a two-year programme of full-time education and training. As part of NIP, a special benefit (Introduksjonsstønad) is paid to attendees to incentive participation. The Introduksjonsstønad is substantial, and it increases by 50% when participants reach age 25 (from approx. €12,860 to €19,290). Accounting for age, we find that increasing the Introduksjonsstønad results in increased NIP participation. Despite increasing cost and participation, we do not find any evidence of increased labour market outcomes. Norway’s approach to integration is both ambitious and expensive however our early findings show that NIP may not be effective. Given the importance of integration in Norway and the role of NIP, we suggest that further research needs to be done into credible alternatives or improvements to NIP and the Introduksjonsstønad.