No claim, no pain - measuring the non-take-up of social assistance using register data

The main objectives of social assistance bene…fits, including poverty alleviation and labor-market or social reintegration, can be seriously compromised if support is difficult to access.
While recent studies point to high non-take-up rates, existing evidence does not make full use
of the information recorded by benefi…t agencies. Most studies have to rely on interview-based
data, with misreporting and measurement errors affecting the variables needed to establish
both bene…fit receipt and benefi…t entitlement. In this paper, we exploit a unique combination
of Finnish administrative data and eligibility simulations based on the tax-benefi…t calculator
of the Finnish authorities, carefully investigating the measurement issues that remain. We
…nd rates of non-take-up that are both substantial and robust: 40% to 50% of those eligible
do not claim. Using repeated cross-section estimations for years 1996-2003, we identify a set
of stable determinants of claiming behavior and suggest that changes in behavior could drive
the observed downward trend in take-up rates during the post-recession period. We discuss
the poverty implications of our results.